Former In-Laws of Man Who Held Couple Captive in Basement Recall Red Flag From Family Game Night (Exclusive)

In a remarkable narrative that underscores the complexities of seemingly ordinary lives, Tim and Karen Mohs reflect on their daughter’s tumultuous marriage to Chad Schipper. The couple’s concerns about Schipper, who has since been convicted of a serious crime, date back to the early days of their daughter Donielle Showvay’s relationship with him. Their observations came to a grim conclusion when, after 17 years of marriage, Schipper was arrested for kidnapping a couple from their church.

Chad Schipper married Donielle in 1999 after they met during a Bible study class in college. At the time, Donielle was adamant about her connection to Schipper, expressing to her mother that she had found the person she intended to marry. However, as the years progressed, Tim and Karen Mohs began to notice troubling behaviours in Schipper, who presented himself as an affable and charismatic individual around others.

Tim described Schipper as “charming,” but his father-in-law felt there was something disingenuous about him. He recounted a moment that sparked unease: “Whenever Chad is with people other than his wife… he puts it on big time.” Additionally, Karen noted troubling signs such as Schipper’s strategy of cheating at games, which led her to question his integrity. She recalled telling him, “We don’t cheat when we play games in this house,” to which he replied, “if you cheat and you can get away with it, it’s okay.” Such rationalisations indicated a deeper moral ambiguity that foreshadowed future events.

In a stark turn of fate, Schipper would go on to be implicated in a heinous crime. As a financial planner, he had approached fellow church members Connie and Larry Van Oosten to manage their money. When they turned down his services, it appears he devised a plan to kidnap the couple in an attempt to secure a ransom from them. The scheme soon unravelled when Connie expertly managed to slip a note to her bank teller, signalling that she was in danger. This decisive action prompted the police to intervene and arrest Schipper.

Post-arrest, the Mohs family observed further alarming changes in Schipper’s behaviour, particularly around their daughter. Donielle confided that her husband changed dramatically when they were not present. Tim explains: “When you step out the door to go home, a switch goes off and he’s totally different.” This volatility accentuated the growing chasm in their family dynamics and raised further concerns about Donielle’s safety.

Following Schipper’s arrest in 2017, Donielle, along with their six children, took the significant step of changing their surnames. The new name, Showvay, is a creative modification that pays homage to her maiden name, Mohs, while also incorporating a translation of the French word for “to save.” Tim expressed relief over this change, stating, “I’m glad she changed her name because she needs to protect herself and her kids from the stigma that would come with it.”

In the aftermath of her divorce, Donielle rekindled a friendship with Billy Oliver, her high school boyfriend. Billy had also been through struggles of his own, having lost both his father and fiancée. What began as a renewed friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship. The two were married in 2022, celebrating their connection over Thanksgiving dinner. Billy fondly shared, “We pinch ourselves every once in a while, and it’s almost like we picked up where we left off,” expressing his ongoing commitment to making Donielle smile.

The story of Tim and Karen Mohs, their daughter Donielle, and the man who deceived them all now unfolds in a captivating episode titled “The Bible Study Kidnapper,” part of the series Betrayal: Secrets & Lies. The episode is currently available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+. This harrowing account serves as a reminder of how well-crafted facades can mask troubling realities, and it highlights the impact of loyalty and resilience in the face of unspeakable actions.

As new episodes of Betrayal: Secrets & Lies air weekly, audiences are drawn into a world where trust is exploited and the truth can often blur, leaving families to navigate their new realities after betrayal.