Frances Schreuder, convicted in 1983 of ordering her son to kill her wealthy father, has been transferred to a halfway house here while awaiting parole in late 1996.
Schreuder, 57, was sentenced to life in prison for capital homicide conviction in the slaying of auto parts magnate Franklin Bradshaw, who was gunned down by his grandson, Marc Schreuder.Marc Schreuder, who testified his mother wanted Bradshaw dead to prevent her disinheritance, was paroled last year after serving 13 years of his 5-years-to-life sentence.
Since Tuesday, Frances Schreuder, a one-time Manhattan socialite, has been a cook at the Parkview Community Corrections Center, Department of Corrections spokesman Jack Ford confirmed.
The Bradshaw murder case was the topic of two 1985 nonfiction books: "Nutcracker: Money, Madness, Murder: A Family Album" by Shana Alexander, and "At Mother's Request: A True Story of Money, Murder and Betrayal" by Jonathan Coleman.
Both books were later made into television movies.
Ford said Schreuder's job as a halfway house cook is her only opportunity to establish a permanent residence outside prison walls while still technically classified an inmate.
Day jobs are available under certain conditions for inmates with level five or six classifications, the least restrictive, compared to level one, for maximum security.
Prisoners who have jobs in asbestos removal, roofing, firefighting, road work and soil conservation return to the prison at night.
Schreuder is level five and worked on an asbestos crew in the Salt Lake area for the six months before she landed the cook's job, Ford said.
Schreuder has been a model prisoner for most of her 12 years behind bars, Ford said.
Ford, a former reporter for KSL-TV who covered Schreuder's trial, says the woman has changed much from the arrogant demeanor she exhibited while in court.
"In her first couple of years, she was not remorseful. She was not a model inmate," Ford said. "But she has turned her life around. She decided she was going to make the most of the situation. She knuckled down and hit the books, and took advantage of the programs we have."
That includes two college degrees through course work conducted via television microwave linkups with Utah State University. The degrees are bachelor's diplomas in two different areas of psychology.
She is now among several female staff members of the Parkview halfway house, home to 30 to 40 male parolees who share dormitory-style quarters in a building that's locked every night. The parolees can leave each day for jobs or home visits.
But Schreuder is confined to Parkview, Ford said, with no visitors.
"She's there as a worker bee, no outside privileges or anything," he said.
Schreuder is scheduled for patrol on Oct. 8, 1996.