Murder of Scott Amedure
The murder of Scott Amedure occurred on March 9, 1995, at his mobile home in Lake Orion, Michigan. The 32-year-old was killed by 24-year-old Jonathan Schmitz, three days after the men appeared as guests for the taping of an episode of the tabloid talk show The [Jenny Jones Show]. Amedure had publicly revealed in the episode that he had a crush on Schmitz, who claimed that he was straight but flattered by the revelation. On the morning of March 9, Amedure left a sexually suggestive note on Schmitz's apartment doorstep. In response, Schmitz purchased a 12-gauge shotgun, confronted Amedure at his home, and fired two shots into Amedure's chest. Schmitz called 911 to report the killing and he was subsequently arrested.
Schmitz was charged with Murder in [United States law|first-degree murder]. He utilized the gay panic defense, in which he claimed that he killed Amedure over embarrassment about the revelation of a same-sex crush. Schmitz was found guilty of second-degree murder.
The Amedure family sued The Jenny Jones Show for wrongful death, although the show was ultimately found to not be liable. Amedure and Schmitz's appearance on The Jenny Jones Show was shelved, although it was later shown to jurors during the civil trial against The Jenny Jones Show.
Background
Scott Bernard Amedure was born on January 26, 1963, the youngest of six children to Frank Amedure and Patricia Graves. Aged seventeen, Amedure dropped out of high school to join the Air Force. He served in the Air Force for four years before he returned to Michigan. Amedure had a history of substance abuse, for which he entered rehabilitation programs twice. He also experienced difficulties with relationships and he had past instances of domestic violence. Amedure worked as a bartender at Club Flamingo, a gay club in Pontiac, Michigan. According to Amedure's neighbor Gayle Clinton, he "was a talk-show junkie."On March 6, 1995, Amedure was a guest on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show titled "Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush", in which he admitted to being a secret admirer of Jonathan Schmitz, who lived near him in Lake Orion, Michigan. Until the taping, Schmitz did not know who would be revealed as his secret admirer. Schmitz stated that he participated in the show due to curiosity, and he claimed later that the producers implied that his admirer was a woman, although the producers of the show claim that they did tell Schmitz that the admirer could be male or female. During the segment, Amedure was encouraged by Jones to share his fantasies about Schmitz, after which Schmitz was brought onstage. According to The Washington Post, "he two men exchanged an awkward embrace before the host dropped her bombshell." In response to Amedure's disclosure, Schmitz laughed, then stated that he was "definitely heterosexual".