No parole in dragging death

VIERA, FLORIDA - A Brevard Circuit Court judge shook her head Monday as she sentenced convicted killer Samantha Schmidt to life in prison for the 2004 robbery and dragging death of an Indialantic woman.

"This is a tragedy of a life ended, and a tragedy of a future ended," Judge Meryl Allawas said before handing down the mandatory life prison term for first-degree felony murder and a concurrent 15-year sentence for robbery in connection with the April 30, 2004, death of Linda Geiger.

Schmidt, 23, is not eligible for parole.

"There are no winners or losers," the judge said. "There's just tragedy."

A jury convicted Schmidt in June for what prosecutors said was one in a string of robberies in 2004 carried out by the West Melbourne resident and her boyfriend Brandon Bennett during a drug binge.

Prosecutors said Geiger, 56, was killed after she chased Bennett, who snatched Geiger's purse from her shopping cart outside a Melbourne Wal-Mart and jumped into a pickup driven by Schmidt. Geiger grabbed hold of the vehicle's passenger side door and was run over and dragged 60 feet, authorities said.

Bennett, 24, was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for his role in the incident. Schmidt rejected a similar deal that could have set her free before age 50, prosecutors said.

On Monday, Schmidt, clutching a tissue, apologized to the Geiger family.

"Every day for over three years, I wished to myself that I could give her back to you," Schmidt said through tears. "If I'd only known she was there, I would have helped her."

Schmidt also lambasted Bennett for his role in the incident.

"I'm no longer the lost child who sat in that truck and obeyed the orders of a drugged-out, abusive man," she said.

Schmidt's address to the court went against the advice of her attorney, Dan Ciener. A motion for a new trial is pending with the 5th District Court of Appeal.

During the trial, Ciener denied that Schmidt planned the theft with Bennett, and said Schmidt was not aware Geiger was hanging onto the vehicle when she followed Bennett's order to speed out of the store lot.

Before the sentencing, Schmidt's parents also offered the Geigers their condolences. The couple told the court of a "friendly, courteous" Schmidt who was an accomplished equestrian, but whose life changed "dramatically" when she met Bennett.

Schmidt's mother, Constance Schmidt, blasted the media for its portrayal of her daughter as a "monster" and said Schmidt "was a victim, too."

Prosecutors can charge first-degree felony murder when a death results from the commission of another felony, even if the death is unintentional, assistant state attorney Susan Stewart said. The state declined to pursue the death penalty.

During her victim impact statement, Geiger's daughter, Heather Geiger, said her mother had taught her to take responsibility for poor choices -- something she believes Schmidt has not done. She asked that Schmidt receive the harshest sentence allowable.

Schmidt still faces separate charges for allegedly forging checks stolen during other robberies in the days before Geiger's death.