SPOKANE, Wash. - Daniel Arteaga made his first court appearance as a man charged with murder on Wednesday. He's accused of murdering 34 year old Kimberly Schmidt. Judge Annette Plese set Arteaga's bond at one million dollars and he will now be arraigned August 21st. If Arteaga is able to post bond he must surrender his passport within 24 hours.
Investigators believe that on the night of New Year's Eve Kim Schmidt was with Dan Arteaga at her home just north of Spokane on Regina Street. Arteaga told detectives when he left Kim was sleeping and the doors were locked. Still, investigators believe that when he left, Kim was already dead, shot to death.
Kim's mother, Toni Schmidt, addressed the judge in court this afternoon and asked for the highest possible bond for the safety of Kim's daughter.
On New Year's Day, Dan Arteaga was the one who called Toni Schmidt to let her know something may be wrong with her daughter (Kim). Toni was actually on the phone with Arteaga when she walked into Kim's bedroom and found her (Kim) murdered.
In court documents it came out today that Dan Arteaga's been married for more than 15 years, but he said he's had an affair with Kim Schmidt lasting for six and a half years. Because of the affair he said he had many things at Kim's house, as he claims he was never welcomed back after her death. So just two weeks ago he filed a lawsuit against Toni Schmidt, Kim's mother, to try to get his property that he left there. Among many other items Arteaga wanted his guns back. In all, there were 22 rifles, 7 pistols and a lot of ammo. The guns themselves are valued at more than $20,000. There is no telling what will happen with the lawsuit filed by Arteaga now that he has been arrested in connection with Schmidt's murder.
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