WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 - Wicomico County Man Accused of Killing Wife

Wicomico County Man Accused of Killing Wife

SALISBURY- A Wicomico County man is charged with the first degree murder of his estranged wife following a Thursday morning shooting.

Officers from the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office said the shooting happened around 6:45 a.m. at the victim's home at 32140 Spearin Road, near Snow Hill Road east of Salisbury. Investigators say 34-year-old Andrew Ronald Schultz used a shotgun to kill his estranged wife, 39-year-old Tonya Hales Schultz. 

The police say after fatally shooting his wife in the head, the suspect then walked out of the rear of the home and waited on the driveway for officers to arrive. According to charging documents, when Schultz saw the aptrol vehicle, he immediately put his hands straight above heis head.

After being handcuffed, charging documents report Schultz as saying, "I am in trouble. I killed her because she was going to hurt my kids. I'm going to prison, aren't I? I left the gun in the back room."

According to documents, detectives interviewed the couple's 4-year-old son Kenny, who told the detectives that his father had shot his mother with a rifle and now she was dead. Kenny also said that he and his 1-year-old sister Ava were in the "dog room" when this happened, along with his mother and father, charging documents say. The boy also told detectives that his mother and father were fighting.

Charging documents stated that the Schultz's had recently separated. Charging documents indicate that Andrew Schultz's address was on Chestnut Street in Delmar, Md., while his wife remained residing at the Spearin Road home with the couple's two children and a male roommate. Charging documents also say that "Schultz had further admitted to killing his wife to his mother via telephone and had her notify the police."

Friends and relatives of Tonya Schultz told WBOC that the couple separated about two weeks ago. Family members say Tonya was scared her estranged husband would hurt her.

Tonya's aunt Cindy Dennis says she was devastated by the news of her death.

"It was a day I don't wish on anyone," Dennis said. "It was a day from pure hell."

The family says they will make sure Tonya's two kids never forget the mother they lost.

"We're going to do our very best to make sure that the children remember who their mother was," said Pamela Hart, Tonya's aunt.

Andrew Schultz is charged with first degree murder, second degree murder, first degree assault and second degree assault. If convicted of first degree murder, he could face the death penalty.  

WBOC has learned that Andrw Schultz was a bus driver for Wicomico County public schools. Officials there say they never had any problems with Schultz. He has been a bus driver for three or four years.