Dateline NBC will revisit the sad story of a Lynn Schockner, a California housewife who was stabbed to death in broad daylight as six police officers waited outside her home. Lynn Schockner’s death was believed to be the result of a burglary gone wrong. But detectives soon discovered that her husband, Manfred “Fred” Schockner, paid two hit men to kill his wife. Sixty-five-year old Manfred Schockner, and his accomplices, 31-year old Frankie Fidel Jaramillo, aka “El Cubano,” and 21-year old bodybuilder, Nicholas Alexander Harvey, were all found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Dateline NBC episode entitled “In Broad Daylight” is a repeat from earlier this year.
The bizarre events began in November, 2004, after a neighbor contacted police to report an intruder in the Schockner’s backyard. When police arrived at the home located in the 1100 block of Andrews Avenue in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood that morning, they spoke to the lady of the home who had been sleeping at the time. The woman was identified as 50-year-old Lynn Schockner. The woman agreed to retrieve the key to a back gate so that police could enter and search the property.
Law enforcement officials waited outside for an excessive amount of time, prompting them to see what was going on. It was then that they observed a 21-year old man escaping the residence. The man was identified as Nicholas Harvey, a gym trainer and bodybuilder. Upon his arrest, police found a bloody sharp object, a stun gun, and stolen jewelry in his possession. The lifeless body of Lynn Schockner was found outside her back door.
An autopsy report revealed that the victim was quietly accosted by the killer and stabbed around 10 times. Her throat was also cut. The Bixby Knolls neighborhood was in shock as neighbors tried to figure out who could’ve killed the nice housewife. Believing that intruders were targeting their neighborhood for burglaries, residents were adamant about police solving the case.
The Long Beach police investigators had no idea that their robbery and burglary theory would be thrown out as soon as they learned that the victim’s own husband had plotted to have her killed so that he wouldn’t lose millions of dollars in the divorce settlement.
Those who knew the couple stated that the relationship was particularly abusive, and that Manfred Schockner had a reputation for mistreating his wife and their son, Charles. Lynn had planned on starting a new life with her son before the tragic events. Police were able to connect Nicholas Harvey and Fred Schockner to Frankie Jaramillo, a man they called El Cubano. Frankie Jaramillo was friends with Fred Schockner, and had even had dinner at the couples home, according to The Press-Telegram . Prosecutors say that El Cubano, aka Frankie Jaramillo, had promised to pay Nicholas Harvey $5,000 to kill the woman. In return, Fred Schockner would pay Jaramillo $50,000.
Lynn Schockner’s friends and family members say that she was a beautiful and giving person who always put others before herself. Today, the killers still sit in a California correctional center. Frankie Jaramillo and Manfred Schockner have lost their appeals. In 2015, Mark A. Jicha published a book about the murder-for-hire plot entitled Leaving Long Beach .
Watch how investigators trace the evidence back to Fred Schockner on Dateline NBC tonight at 9/8 central.
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