Professional Poker Player, Ernest Scherer III, to Stand Trial for His Parents’ Death

Last year, professional poker player, Ernest Scherer III, found himself considered as the most likely suspect of his parents', Ernest Scherer, Jr. and wife Charlene, murders.  Today, he is going to stand trial for their deaths.

A Background on Ernest Scherer III

Ernest Scherer III worked in the mortgage industry but has a passion for poker, as did his father.  It was in 2002 that he decided to quit his job and focus more on his games and winnings as his and his wife's source of income.  He might have won almost $400,000 from gambling alone, but then his gambling debts stated to pile up.  Since both Scherer III and his wife do not have a stable income to support themselves and a $40,000 credit card debt among other debts including mortgages and taxes, his situation turned to worst.

A Brief Look at the Crime

The bodies of Ernest Scherer, Jr. and wife Charlene Abendroth were found last March 2008 in their very own home, which is situated in Castlewood Country Club.  [Read][more...]

Poker Player and Murderer Possibly The Same

A thirty-year-old poker pro was arrested in Las Vegas Monday for the murder of his father and mother in their home in early March of last year.  Ernest Scherer III was arrested for the brutal killing of his Father and Mother in a San Francisco bedroom community of Pleasanton, California.  A person that worked for the Country Club Administration discovered the bodies several days later in the Country Club community.  A phone call from the daughter who lived in Utah alerted them to a possible problem, as she could not get her parents on the phone.

There is some information on a possible motive for the murder.  Scherer III was deep in debt and not doing well in the poker world.  Since turning pro in 2002 he had won $339,000 according to tournament records.  He had a wife and a child that lived in Southern California.  His Father was pressing his son for the return of a $616,000 loan he made to buy his son a home in Brea, California.  This tragic situation was brought on by the mounting debts from gaming, credit card debts and the pressure to repay the home loan.  [Read][more...]