Pottstown, PA: Police identify homicide victim; warrant names boyfriend as suspect

POTTSTOWN, Pa. -
Investigators have identified a woman who was killed inside her home, and a search warrant identifies her boyfriend as a suspect.

Police found the body of Alicia Schmidt, 31, inside her home at 424 Cherry Street in Pottstown, Montgomery Co., Thursday morning.

According to a search warrant, police were dispatched to the home where Schmidt lived with her two children at 6:56 a.m. to check on Schmidt's welfare after a reported domestic incident.

Police found Schmidt's body lying on the bottom of the basement stairway.

"I think it's unbelievable. I cannot believe this would even happen in our area," said Mark Plavik, who lives just up the block.

According to the warrant, police interviewed the ex-wife of Edwin Carrero, who said Carrero has been in a relationship with Schmidt, and the two have been living together.

According to the warrant, Carrero's ex-wife told police she received a phone call from Carrero at 6:35 a.m. Thursday, and he told her that he may have killed Schmidt.

According to the warrant, Carrero told his ex-wife that he choked Schmidt and pushed her down the steps of the basement. He also asked his ex-wife to give him a half-hour to an hour before calling police.

"It's sad," said Jasmine Brinkley, who lives on Cherry street. "No one deserves that, nobody, especially if her kids were there. Nobody deserves to go through that."

"We're helping each other out," said Plavik. "It's just odd to hear something like this so close to home. It's frightening."

At this point, no arrests have been made.

The Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau have initiated a joint homicide investigation.

An autopsy on Schmidt is scheduled for Friday morning.