- Donielle thought she married the love of her life when she tied the knot with Chad, but over the years his true identity unravelled in hurtful ways
- Despite the marriage troubles, Donielle chose to remain devoted to her husband
- That was until one day she turned on the TV and Chad’s face appeared on the news betraying Donielle in a way she never saw coming
Here Donielle Oliver Showvay, 53, tells her story in her own words.
‘He’s cute and smart!’ I whispered to my sister Randin, with a nudge.
It was 1995, and we were in Bible class when my eyes clocked Chad Schipper, then 18. With his thick dark hair and a charming smile, I was hopelessly impressed.
When he invited me out on a movie date, we got talking more and discovered that we were the perfect match.
My parents, Karen and Tim, loved him too and, three years later, Chad proposed.
We exchanged vows in front of family and friends at a beautiful wedding ceremony in October 1999.
Buying our first home that year, we started our life together, with Chad working as an office administrator and me in the logistics department of the same company.
But just when I thought things couldn’t get better, cracks began to show in our perfect life.
A few months into our marriage, Chad made a confession. He’d had an intimate encounter with another man.
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His revelation made me feel betrayed. Did I know who Chad really was? Could I trust him?
Still, wanting to honour my wedding vows, I decided to put the indiscretion behind me, and stayed committed to making our relationship work.
Two years later, we welcomed a baby girl, Grace. She became our whole world and Chad turned into a doting father.
Over the next few years, we had five more children and, during this time, Chad and I decided as a family, that I would homeschool the little ones while he took care of our finances.
It worked well… until Chad got fired from his role after some conflict at work.
‘I promise I can still take care of us,’ he assured me. ‘I’m going to study a course on financial advice and get a better job.’
Chad had always been the breadwinner, so I trusted he would figure out the best way forward.
Sure enough, within a week he’d completed the course and was able to land a well-paying job.
We were back on our feet and life seemed good.
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Chad even wanted to move into a bigger home to raise our large family, although he had a bit of trouble accessing a loan, because the banks wanted more documentation and proof of his income.
For a moment I felt a niggle of concern, but Chad got it sorted and we soon moved into a spacious property in Geneseo, Illinois, US, where Chad turned the first floor into his own personal office. It made sense as he was busier than ever with his work.
Our lives were now bright, and Chad was even taking the family on multiple vacations, making bookings for us at luxe accommodation.
‘Can we really afford all of this?’ I asked him on a family trip to Disneyland in 2013.
‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘Business is going great!’
But there was a drawback to Chad’s growing success too.
He began to spend most nights locked away in his office and, when he wasn’t there, he was away on trips.
‘I’m busy with work. Everything is fine,’ he repeatedly reassured me.
Even when the family credit card got declined on occasion, I pushed back the worry, knowing I had to trust my husband to take care of us.
That was until February 2017, when I woke with a start at 3am.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
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‘State police – hands up,’ officers cried, asking me where Chad was.
But I didn’t have a clue other than that he was away for work.
‘You’ll need to come with us for questioning,’ an officer told me – and my heart froze.
Leaving the kids with a friend, I accompanied the police to the station.
There, in a stark white room, I was peppered with questions about our family finances.
I was quizzed about Chad’s business… about the rental properties we’d owned.
But Chad and I had always had the agreement – he looked after the finances while I raised the kids at home.
What on earth’s going on? I wondered.
Finally, I was allowed to go home. But the ordeal had only just begun.
Turning on the TV, I saw Chad’s face staring back at me. He’d been arrested for allegedly abducting an elderly couple, Connie and Larry Van Oosten – who we knew from church.
Thinking back, I remembered how he’d once approached them with a business offer, but they’d declined.
The police alleged he’d broken into their home with a sledgehammer and a taser while they were asleep, before taping their mouths and eyes with duct tape and handcuffing them.
Shockingly, they said Chad had constructed a soundproof underground basement in one of our old rental properties. He’d kept the couple there for 48 hours as he threatened their lives. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
But there was more.
Disguised with a mask and distorting his voice, Chad told the Van Oosten’s he was part of a ‘special forces’ criminal organisation before driving Connie to a bank.
There, he forced her to withdraw a bank cheque for $500,000 by threatening to kill her husband. Luckily, Connie managed to write a secret message and give it to the bank teller.
The bank notified police and they traced the cheque to Chad’s business. When officers tracked down my husband, he confessed to the kidnapping.
My heart sank. I didn’t know Chad at all. I had spent more than 17 years living with a stranger.
‘That’s not my husband,’ I screamed at the TV.
Over the following weeks, I learned from police that Chad was in deep financial debt. He thought the Van Oostens – who had recently come into a large sum of money – were his way out.
It turned out, he’d also been embezzling funds from his clients, stealing from family members, and he forged documents in order to borrow money against his parents’ house.
I was utterly horrified.
Right then and there I made a vow – to divorce Chad and rebuild my life for my children.
I saw him for the first time a couple months later in a divorce court. ‘I love you’, he mouthed to me.
‘No, you don’t,’ I told him, trying to keep a lid on my anger.
After our divorce, I moved into my parents’ home for six months, making the difficult decision to tell the kids what had happened to their father.
Following an honest conversation, they decided to disown him.
In November 2018, Chad Schipper, 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping with a concealed identity, home invasion with a dangerous weapon, and theft.
He was sentenced to a maximum of 60 years in prison.
Today, with the support of my family and church, I’ve been able to give myself and the kids a new lease on life.
We’ve since moved into a new home, where I spent countless nights working on my knitting business, and homeschooling my children.
In the process, I also reconnected with my high school sweetheart, Billy, and we married in November 2022.
Thinking back to my first marriage now, I can see so many red flags that I swept under the rug to keep the peace.
I’m glad Chad is behind bars where he can’t hurt another family.
