Former wife of JSO officer pleads guilty in Jacksonville cold case

Jacksonville, FLa. — Melissa Schafer, the ex-wife of a former JSO detective, plead guilty to five counts of murder and aggravated battery Friday morning.

In a tearful testimony, Schafer admitted to helping her ex-husband, William “Billy” Baer kill 39-year-old Saad Kawaf and stealing $30,000 in cash from his wife in 1999.

In a July press briefing, Undersheriff Pat Ivey ran through the events of the crime, saying, “ the victim along with his wife, in those morning hours were approached by a white male and white female suspect, in which the victim was stabbed multiple times and succumbed to his injuries. The female victim was tied up and approximately $30,000 in funds, cash, was stolen.”

According to JSO, Baer was with the Sheriff’s Office for 27 years, joining in 1975 and retired in 2002. At the time of the murder, Baer had been an intelligence division detective and knew the victim through work.

In 2003, Ivey says two DNA profiles were developed. Later, in May 2020, he says further genetic testing led to the development of profiles that gave indications of who the suspects were.

Ultimately, in June 2020, Ivey says the FDLE was able to provide detectives with the names of the potential suspects.

According to Chief Assistant State Attorney L.E. Hutton said blood drops found on a kitchen counter matched Schafer. Police reports indicate she struggled with Kawaf’s wife before duct-taping her to a chair.

Schafer was taken into custody in Jefferson City, Missouri and was admitted in the Duval County pre-trial detention center on July 22.

Schafer faces 30 years in prison, and despite agreeing to testify against her ex-husband, says she was not promised a lesser sentence.

Schafer’s next court date is March 24.

Cox Media Group