ANNVILLE, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from March 15.
Kimberly Maurer, 37, of Annville Township, has been convicted of criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of a child in the death of 12-year-old Maxwell Schollenberger, according to court documents.
On May 26, 2020, Schollenberger's body was found after Maurer and her co-conspirator in the crime, the child's father, Scott Schollenberger Jr., 43, left the boy to die in a second-floor bedroom in their Annville home.
Also according to court documents, when police arrived on the scene that day, they immediately requested assistance from the Lebanon County Detective Bureau due to the "horrific" conditions they discovered inside the residence. Schollenberger's body was found sprawled across the bed, appearing to be malnourished.
Authorities also said that permanently affixed screws held windows closed, and the room was barren outside of the bed the child's body was found on. After further examination, police found three metal hooks installed to be able to lock the victim in the room. The only liquid found in the room was a plastic cup near the bed frame that contained "a single inch of water," also according to court documents.
Police also discovered through investigation that the victim had been kept in his bedroom, away from the public and other immediate family members for several years. He was not enrolled in school and was not given proper medical care.
The minimum sentence for criminal homicide in Pennsylvania is life in prison, and Maurer is due to be sentenced on June 1.
Scott Schollenberger pleaded guilty to criminal homicide in February. He is serving life in prison without the chance of parole.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf released the following statement regarding the conviction of Kimberly Maurer on March 23: