Erik Oeverndiek/Daily Journal San Mateo County Sheriff ‘s Lt. Lisa Williams announced the arrest of Charles Edward Schuttloffel at a press conference in Redwood City Monday. Schuttloffel is accused of setting his home on fire and killing his two toddler sons in 2004.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Charles Edward Schuttloffel Sr., 36, at his Half Moon Bay home at approximately 7:30 a.m. Monday, five days after the grand jury returned the indictment on the charges plus four special allegations of multiple murder and murder during an arson. The special circumstances make Schuttloffel eligible for life in prison without parole or the death penalty although the District Attorney’s Office appears unlikely to take the capital route.

Authorities are remaining fairly mum on motive and means in the May 4, 2004 fire which killed William Leonard “Billy” Schuttloffel, 2, and Charles Edward “Charlie” Schuttloffel Jr., 3. However, the grand jury indictment indicates its belief the fire was an intentional act rather than an accident due to negligence.

Even if Schuttloffel’s defense argues he never meant to kill the children, he can be convicted of murder. Felony murder is defined as a death in the commission of a different felony crime. In this case, the underlying crime is arson.

Lana Schuttloffel, a teacher with the Cabrillo Unified School District, allegedly wanted to leave her marriage. The day of the fire, she and her father went to work while her husband stayed home with the boys.

At 12:24 p.m., Charles Schuttloffel called 911 to report the house fire on the 900 block of Seaside School Road in San Gregorio. By the time California Department of Forestry and La Honda fire crews arrived, the blaze had totally taken over the home. The fire took approximately five hours to burn out.

Schuttloffel reportedly told authorities he tried to save his children but was prevented by the raging flames. Their bodies were recovered after the house collapsed and the fire extinguished.

Schuttloffel also allegedly told authorities an explosion knocked him unconscious and threw him from the house. He was treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

Sheriff’s Lt. Lisa Williams declined to say Monday if the children were killed prior to the fire. However, autopsy reports list the cause of death on both as smoke inhalation. The documents also do not note any evidence of prior abuse, such as bruises or broken bones.

Authorities suspected Schuttloffel from early on but he was never charged with any crime. Prosecutors convened a criminal grand jury in February and, after presenting evidence over several days, the panel returned its indictment March 7.

 Investigators continued to work doggedly although the case was no longer in the public spotlight, Williams said.

“Detectives never gave up on this case,” Williams said.

The tragedy shook the small town south of Half Moon Bay and the community rallied around Schuttloffel and his wife, Lana. The Old Princeton Landing Bar in Princeton-by-the-Sea even launched a fundraiser a week later to help the couple. The couple stayed together, renting a Half Moon Bay home and even having a daughter the following March, but the Sheriff’s Office kept their property declared a crime scene and the case was never considered closed. Last summer, specialized arson investigators were called in and reportedly indicated the fire appeared intentionally set. The presence of a methamphetamine lab was ruled out and only faint traces of possible accelerant remained.

Schuttloffel has a long history of drug-related offenses in San Mateo County which initially led investigators to consider if the fire was connected to drug use or manufacturing.

Schuttloffel’s earliest noted criminal case in the county was April 1994 and he was arrested as late as Oct. 18, 2006 in South San Francisco on one felony count of drug possession and three misdemeanors, including resisting arrest. A preliminary hearing on those new charges is scheduled for this morning but Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe assumed  Schuttloffel’s appearance at the murder arraignment will take precedence.

The drug case will likely trail behind the murder charges and be tried separately, Wagstaffe said.

Unlike Schuttloffel’s pending drug case, the murder charges offer him no opportunity for a defense attorney to question the evidence before facing a jury.  A grand jury indictment sidesteps the need for a preliminary hearing and propels Schuttloffel directly into Superior Court.

The grand jury transcripts are confidential until 10 days after their delivery to the defense.

Defense attorney Bill Johnston did not return a call about whether his client is prepared to enter a plea this morning or will wait until after reviewing the transcripts.

Lana Schuttloffel reportedly testified as did her father. Prosecutors invited Schuttloffel himself to testify but he declined. Unlike a jury trial, an individual does not have to testify before the grand jury. The exclusion of a wife testifying against her husband does not apply when the alleged victims are the couple’s children.

Lana Schuttloffel is reportedly standing by her husband although court records show their marriage was strained between the time of the fire and the grand jury indictment. In October 2005, Lana Schuttloffel filed for divorce, noting a September separation and citing irreconcilable differences, although it was never finalized.

If the couple had proceeded, it would have been the second divorce for Charles Schuttloffel whose first marriage ended  in 1993 amid allegations of drug use and neglect toward that couple’s now 14-year-old son.

Charles and Valerie Lynn Schuttloffel married in December 1992, separated in 1993 and ended their marriage in August 1995 although the paperwork did not become finalized until October 2002 after he had already married his next wife.

The agreement was misplaced and forgotten while Charles Schuttloffel coped with the death of his mother, according to his first wife’s divorce filing.

She cited irreconcilable differences as the cause of the breakup but the divorce records do include a confidential probation report filed June 23, 1994.

In documents back and forth, Valerie Schuttloffel asked for a restraining order and bickered over child custody.

In one document, Valerie Schuttloffel stated that while her estranged husband cared for their son he was often unavailable. When the child was returned, Valerie Schuttloffel said she noticed a rash and a doctor later diagnosed scabies, a head cold and an ear infection. The boy also contracted scabies at a later date.

The same request asked a court to order Charles be drug tested before any visit.

Charles Schuttloffel responded in a Jan. 5, 1994 document that he posed no jeopardy to the child and “petition and I have both been irresponsible and manipulative in the past.”

Lana and Charles Schuttloffel married Oct. 22, 1999.

Arson-related murder is rare in San Mateo County — Wagstaffe said the last he remembers was a Daly City case two decades ago that sent a man to death row.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.