Gloria Schulze

• Gloria Schulze
• Age Progression of Schulze

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Real Name: Gloria Louise Schulze
Aliases: None known
Wanted For: Vehicular Manslaughter
Missing Since: September 1995

Angela Maher

Case

Details: Twenty-one-year-old Angela Marie Maher grew up in a close-knit family in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sadly, in 1991, her father died. On July 29, 1994, she was home from college to celebrate her mother's birthday. At 10pm, she left home to pick up a friend who needed a ride. Around the same time, thirty-one-year-old Gloria Schulze was leaving a local bar in her van. Moments later, the paths of these two strangers would collide. As Angela drove along Scottsdale Road to pick up her friend, Schulze, driving on the same road in the opposite direction, drifted across the center line. Angela honked her horn, but Schulze did not respond. Schulze's van slammed into Angela's car and drove over it. The collision occurred just five minutes from Angela's home.
Shortly before 1am, Angela's mother, Rose Marie, was informed by police officers that Angela had been in an accident. She asked if her daughter was okay, and they said no. Unfortunately, Angela had not been wearing her seat belt. She had suffered massive blunt force trauma to her head. By the time paramedics were able to cut her out of the car, it was too late. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Schulze survived; although she sustained a broken jaw, she was lucid enough to be questioned at the scene. Paramedics noticed that she had watery, bloodshot eyes and a strong smell of liquor on her. When asked if she had drank anything that night, she responded, "Yeah, obviously too much." She later told doctors and police that she had between four and five beers. Tests later revealed traces of marijuana in her system and a blood alcohol content of 0.15 – well above the legal limit for driving in Arizona. However, she was not arrested initially because she was in the hospital.
Angela had apparently become one of the more than 16,000 Americans killed in alcohol-related accidents in 1994. But she is more than just a statistic. In a cruel and tragic irony, she had been an active crusader against drinking and driving. When she was a high school junior, a close friend was killed while driving drunk. Rather than do nothing, she took a stand and helped establish a chapter of S.A.D.D., or "Students Against Drunk Driving." She often organized fundraisers and presentations, talking about drunk driving accidents and urging students not to drink and drive.
In another awful irony, on the night of Angela's death, she was on her way to pick up a friend who had called for a ride home from a Scottsdale bar. According to her brother, Donald, and Rose Marie, she normally acted as a "designated driver" when she went out with friends, so that she could drive everyone home and make sure everyone got home safe and sound. When Rose Marie would ask her why she was always the designated driver, she would say, "Mother, I want to make sure I get home."
On August 8, 1994, Schulze was arrested; however, she was almost immediately released on her own recognizance. She never spent a day in jail, and, incredibly, was allowed to keep her driver's license. She had no prior criminal record, so prosecutors felt there was no reason to put her behind bars or take her license. Four-and-a-half weeks after the accident, on September 6, 1994, she was arraigned on charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. She was represented by a prominent attorney who was experienced in handling drunk driving cases. At the hearing, Rose Marie presented a statement to the court, pleading with the judge to not allow Schulze to be released and have her be held until her trial. To the Mahers' dismay, she was released without being required to post bond. The judge, however, did stipulate that Schulze submit to drug testing three times a week and report to the court by phone once a week.
It was the beginning of months of frustration for the Mahers. Schulze's attorney would seek and receive six trial postponements. The prosecutor and judge originally on the case were reassigned. Schulze would also be permitted to leave the state on three separate occasions, despite the Mahers' and the prosecutor's objections. Finally, more than a year after Angela's death, Schulze was offered a plea bargain arrangement. If she waived her right to a trial and pled guilty to the reckless endangerment and manslaughter charges, she would serve a reduced sentence.
A pretrial hearing was scheduled for September 15, 1995. It is a day Rose Marie will always remember. When she arrived, she noticed that Schulze was not in the courtroom. As time passed, she began to wonder if Schulze had skipped town. The prosecutor soon confirmed to her that Schulze had vanished. Incredibly, she had missed six drug test dates. She also missed an appointment with a counselor on September 11. Prosecutors were not told about the missed appointments until it was too late. The last time she called into the court was either the end of August or the beginning of September. Rose Marie notes that Schulze could have called in from anywhere.
The Mahers were deeply affected by Schulze going on the run. They have been unable to heal from the loss of Angela. Rose Marie recalls that Angela was bubbly, friendly, full of life and vitality, and always smiling. She was polished, educated, personable, and loved life. Rose Marie is deeply upset that Schulze took Angela from her life and the lives of Angela's other loved ones. At the time of her death, Angela was a senior at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. On May 13, 1995, in an unprecedented display of respect, Angela was granted a diploma posthumously. Rose Marie accepted it on her behalf.
Schulze has not been seen since September 1995. She is wanted on manslaughter charges in relation to Angela's death. There is also a federal warrant for her arrest. Scottsdale police have only two pictures of her: her booking photo and one from her driver's license. She is 5'5" and weighs 115 pounds. She has red hair and green eyes. She has a scar on her right knee and a tattoo. Her birth date is October 26, 1962.
There is some speculation that Schulze's parents helped her escape. Two weeks after she vanished, two cars that were registered to her and were left at her parents' house were sold. One month later, their house was sold as well. However, her parens have never been charged.
Extra Notes:

• This case first aired on the April 19, 1996 episode.
• It was also profiled on America’s Most Wanted and In Pursuit with John Walsh.
  

Results: Wanted. Investigators believed that Schulze was living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the late 1990s. However, she apparently moved before she could be found. In April 2001, she was tried in absentia and convicted of vehicular manslaughter and endangerment. Since then, there have been tips placing her with family in California and even in Turkey. However, she has yet to be located.
Sadly, on September 26, 2021, Rose Marie passed away at the age of eighty-four.
Links:

• Gloria Schulze on Unsolved.com
• Gloria Schulze on Scottsdale's Most Wanted
• Dead champion of sobriety may have met ironic end - August 3, 1994
• DUI suspect held in crusader's death - August 11, 1994
• Suspect in fatal DUI vanishes - September 23, 1995
• Dead and Gone - January 18, 1996
• Suspect still missing in deadly DUI case - May 1, 1996
• Wanted: Gloria Schulze - May 15, 1996
• Defendant Disappears in case of SADD activist by drunk driver - May 27, 1996
• Suspect flees in case of SADD activist killed by drunk driver - May 28, 1996
• DUI case not `open and shut’ - May 28, 1996
• Defendant's flight compounds grief over DUI death - May 28, 1996
• Her daughter dead, mother can only wait and hope for justice - July 30, 1997
• Drunken-driving suspect disappears as victim's family grieves (Page 1) (Page 2) - August 1, 1997
• Trial in absentia in '94 DUI death (Page 1) (Page 2) - April 22, 2001
• Empty chair tells tale at woman's trial for manslaughter - April 27, 2001
• Fugitive convicted of manslaughter - May 4, 2001
• Hopefully, lawyer hasn't misled judge - August 28, 2002
• Police still searching for woman guilty of manslaughter in '94 Scottsdale crash - July 27, 2007
• Year 21 of one mother's wait for justice - August 4, 2014
• Scottsdale police hope age-enhanced photo helps nab fugitive on run for 23 years - January 10, 2018
• Woman convicted of manslaughter in the 90s still on the run - January 10, 2018
• Gloria Schulze Has Been On The Run Since A Drunk Driving Accident In 1995 - February 13, 2019
• America's Most Wanted - Gloria Schulze on Vimeo
• AMW Discussion Page on Gloria Schulze
• Angela Maher on Find a Grave
• Rose Marie Maher's Obituary

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