A.B. Schirmer: Sex-Addicted Pastor, Who Killed Two Pennsylvania Wives, Probed By ‘Dateline’ NBC Tonight

A.B. Schirmer, the disgraced pastor who was accused of killing two of his church wives, Betty and Jewel Schirmer, will be the focus of tonight’s latest story on Dateline NBC. The Inquisitr brought you Friday’s Dateline, detailing the Richard Schoeck–Stacey Schoeck murder case. This evening’s Dateline report will take a look at the chilling story of a once-respected minister who charmed his way into the bedroom of many female congregants, ultimately killing two of his wives who discovered his infidelities.

A.B. Schirmer, also known as Arthur Burton Schirmer, was convicted in the beating death of his second wife Betty Schirmer, a death that at first looked like a tragic car accident. But when a man in Schirmer’s congregation committed suicide, it prompted an investigation into Schirmer’s double life that included multiple affairs, sexual addiction, and murder. Dateline NBC will speak with one of the detectives in the case, as well as family members of the victims, and several members of the congregation between Lebanon and Reeders, Pennsylvania.

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According to Dateline NBC, people who knew Pastor A.B. Schirmer described him as a comforting man who knew how to shepherd the flock. His seemingly soothing spirit made people feel good. The eloquent Methodist preacher officiated many weddings and attended to the needs of those low in spirit. No one could have imagined that deep down Schirmer had a dark past and a deep obsession that would ruin the lives of many. One life that he ruined was Joe Musante, a member of the congregation who was found dead at the Methodist church in Reeders, Pennsylvania. When officers arrived that day in 2008, they found that Musante had shot himself in the head while sitting in A.B. Schirmer’s chair.

The suicide rocked the entire church, leading everyone to question what really happened. The case began to get legs after Joe’s sister, Rose, learned that her brother’s wife, Cindy Musante, had been having an affair with Pastor A.B. Schirmer. Rose was convinced that this had something to do with Musante’s suicide. She took her information to the police, which led them to look further into the death of A.B.’s wife, Betty, just a few months earlier.

Detectives found that the death scene photos and Betty’s severe head injuries didn’t match up with A.B. Schirmer’s story that he had crashed after a deer ran out in front of them on that lonely dark rural road that night. There were also no tire marks, indicating that a high speed car accident had occurred.

Dateline NBC will also show that blood patterns also indicated that Betty had been hit over the head with something before she entered the car. On a hunch, investigators looked inside the home’s garage, where they found blood spots that someone had tried to get rid of. A luminol test conducted on the garage showed a trail of blood that led to where the vehicle would have been parked. The blood test came back positive for Betty’s blood. The deduction was made that Betty had been beaten over the head and then dragged to the car.

Law enforcement officials told Dateline NBC they also learned that A.B. Schirmer’s first wife, Jewel Schirmer, had died from a supposed fall down the staircase nine years earlier. What was shocking was that she had the same type of head injuries as Betty. Ultimately, the good pastor was arrested and charged in the death of Betty Schirmer.

At trial, his lover and former church administrative assistant Cindy Musante, aka Cynthia Moyer, stuck by his side, according to the Times Tribune. Court records show that she engaged in a passionate lover affair with A.B. Schirmer during her marriage to Joe. The sex-addicted pastor was quite a lover in the bedroom, and according to Betty, he did things to her body that made her feel like she never had before. In a steamy email uncovered in court, Cindy made the following statement.

“Unimaginable is the only word that even comes close to describing last night. I have occupied this body for 40 something years and trust me….this is not normal for me!!”

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A.B. goes on to tell Cindy how fantastic her body is and how hungry he is for her. Unfortunately for Cindy, she had to leave court without him, since he had been sentenced to life in prison for killing both of his former wives, according to CBS 21. To get more details, you’ll want to tune in to Dateline NBC‘s episode “Fallen” tonight at 8/7 central to see how detectives brought the killer minister to justice.

[Image via Lebanon Daily News/Twitter]