Neil Schneider

Sergeant Neil Schneider was a long serving member of the San Atanasio PD. One night he was serving as the Desk Sergeant on an overnight shift when a subordinate received a telephone call from Caroline Pitcavage at about 3:00am. She told the officer that she had just found the body of her husband Police Chief Mike Pitcavage and that he appeared to have committed suicide. Schneider was told of this and he called Lt. Colin Ferguson, the senior available officer, at home at about 3:25. He informed Ferguson of this event and asked him to come to the station to deal with the situation. Ferguson did so and informed Darren Pitcavage, a prisoner in the local jail, of his father's death. Schneider was present during this interview but did not speak.

The death of Chief Pitcavage divided the Department due to Lt. Ferguson going behind the Chief's back to investigate Darren for felony drug-dealing. Many, including Schneider felt Ferguson had done this deliberately due to being passed over for the promotion to Chief. Feelings became so tense, Ferguson wondered if he should resign.

However, Lucy Chen, a lab tech in the Department, did a routine DNA sampling from Darren since he was charged with a felony and was required to provide a sample under California law. She discovered he was close to a match to the South Bay Strangler indicating he was a near relative. She then checked Chief Pitcavage's DNA and found an exact match indicating he was the killer. After informing the Coroner, Dr. Ishikawa, she told Lt. Ferguson who told her to also inform Sgt. Schneider. Schneider was shocked but lost all sympathy for Pitcavage and apologized to Ferguson. He also informed other officers of the finding in an attempt to reconcile the department.