UPDATE: Just two days after the arrest of ex-boyfriend Dan Arteaga for the murder of Kim Schmidt, KHQ continues to learn new information. New court documents released just hours ago outline the detective's belief that money may have been the motive behind the murder of the 34-year old. In text messages leading up to Schmidt's death, one conversation came out today that revealed Dan Arteaga may have owed Kim Schmidt a lot of money.
FROM COURT DOCUMENTS: On December 23rd, 2011 Kimberly Schmidt had a text message conversation with Joseph Regalado (the father of Schmidt's child) in which she said, in part: "He (Dan) owes me a lot of $$ so trying not to be a bitch yet", "He is in my life only because of the $$ and till that's paid. But I hold both title on his truck because of it","He has a ton of stuff on Ebay so he is there boxing and shipping so he can pay me. Not just to hang out."
Also discovered today detectives mentioned how there was one item Kim Schmidt was missing on the morning of her murder that she always wore: "a gold chain with a gold SCUBA diver penant." A friend gave that necklace to Schmidt. On Monday, the day deputies arrested Arteaga, they obtained that pendant in a search warrant conducted at Arteaga's home, but it was **not the scuba diving penant worn by Schmidt. Authorities are still looking for that. In the detective's report the detective noted how "from his training and experience, it is not uncommon for perpetrators of homicide to take a small item belonging to the victim as a trophy or a keepsake such as jewelry or identification cards."
Additionally it was released today that the gunshot was fired from inside a sock whenever Kimberly Schmidt was killed, in an attempt to cover up fingerprint evidence.
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