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Man who murdered gay admirer out of 'embarrassment' after TV love confession released from prison

Jonathan Schmitz, now 47, shot Scott Amedure, 32, at Lake Orion, Michigan, in 1995 after latter admitted infatuation with him on nationally broadcast episode of Jenny Jones Show

Wednesday 23 August 2017 07:38 BST
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Jonathan Schmitz
Jonathan Schmitz (Michigan Department of Corrections/AP)

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A Michigan man convicted in the 1995 murder of another man who expressed romantic interest in him on national television has been released from prison.

Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz says in an email that 47-year-old Jonathan Schmitz was released on Tuesday from a prison facility in Jackson.

Schmitz was 24 years old when 32-year-old acquaintance Scott Amedure revealed he was romantically interested in him during a taping of the Jenny Jones Show. Schmitz, who said he wasn’t gay, fatally shot Amedure in Lake Orion three days after the taping.

Schmitz turned himself in to police, saying he killed Amedure because he was embarrassed on national television. He was sentenced 25 to 50 years for second-degree murder and was granted parole after a March hearing.

AP

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