CINCINNATI — William Schueler told me his wife, Laura Schueler, was the light of his life for many years, until June 7 when she was shot to death in Evanston — allegedly by a man accused of cutting off a court-ordered ankle monitor months before.
Laura died at the scene of the shooting on Jonathan Avenue and police arrested and charged Ajani Grimes with her murder.
WCPO 9 News found Hamilton County court documents that say Grimes was out on bond for other alleged crimes including aggravated robbery and felonious assault. Court records show he was arrested in October 2024, accused of firing a gun at a man, pistol-whipping him in the head and stealing his car, wallet and cell phone.
Authorities charged Grimes in that case with aggravated robbery, robbery and felonious assault. Grimes pleaded not guilty in that case, and authorities placed him on electronic monitoring on November 15, 2024. However, on April 19, 2025, court records indicate that Grimes cut off his ankle monitor and became a wanted man.
When we sat down with William Schueler, he described the pain and heartache he's been feeling for more than five weeks, after he found out someone killed the love of his life.
"She meant everything to me, I'll never, I'll never see her again, or hear her voice or see her smile," said Schueler.
He told us the two of them have been together for 23 years and were married for seven years.
Schueler said Laura was outgoing and loved being in the spotlight. He describes himself as more of an introvert, but talked about how the two of them had unconditional love for one another.
Watch William Schueler share memories of his wife Laura and his quest for justice:
Schueler wants authorities to give Grimes the death penalty if he's convicted. He also thinks someone dropped the ball, allowing Grimes to be on the run for so long.
"I think it's the court system's fault; he should've never been on ankle monitor," said Schueler.
The same week in June as his wife's murder, Mordecia Black was also accused of killing Patrick Heringer. Authorities said Black cut off his ankle monitor in February 2024.
"They've committed violent crimes why are they out in the public?" said Schueler.
Schueler feels there needs to be reform to the justice system and he's hoping for an explanation for why this happened to his wife.
"She would want me to keep going and just be strong for her," said Schueler.
WCPO has reached out to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the Cincinnati Police Department to get their side of the story about how the Grimes case was handled.
We're continuing to press for answers about the monitoring system and will update this story when we receive responses from these agencies.
