Rogers County Sisters Desperate To Keep Their Mother’s Convicted Killer Behind Bars

Two Rogers County women are worried that their mother’s convicted killer could be set free due to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tribal jurisdiction.

This is just one of thousands of cases that could be dismissed. The women said if the killer goes free, there will be no justice for their mother's death.

Sisters Cari Bohannan and Casey Wrenn remember their mother Janice Scharmacher as someone with a bright, big personality, a caretaker, and a fixer.

"She had a huge heart, and she would do anything for anybody," Cari said. "She was a fixer. She liked to fix problems."

When Janice met and married John Scharmacher, both sisters had a bad feeling about him from the start.

Scharmacher strangled and killed Janice in 2006.

"He showed no remorse," Casey said. "It was disgusting the way he acted and behaved."

The jury sentenced Scharmacher to life in prison and the sisters were so relieved. Now, they found out Scharmacher is trying to get the case dismissed because of the U.S. Supreme court ruling on tribal jurisdiction. He argues since he's a Cherokee, the state doesn't have jurisdiction. 

"He brutally killed his wife, and his case is going to be dismissed, and our only hope is the U.S. Attorney's office can step in and prosecute this," said Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard.

Ballard said 400 cases just in Rogers County are impacted by the Supreme Court's ruling, and thousands more could be thrown out.

"This applies to murder, manslaughter, violent sexual crimes, any crime involving an Indian victim or defendant," Ballard said.

Cari and Casey said they hope the U.S. Attorney's office can retry the case and keep Scharmacher in prison, but they can't believe they have to relive their mother's murder.

"The thoughts of having to relive all of that over again- nobody should have to go through it once, let alone twice," Cari said.

Ballard hopes the state and tribes can come to an agreement that will ensure justice for all these victims.