Accused Murderer Ernie Scherer “Detached” In Discussing Parents Deaths

A woman who claimed to have dated Ernie Scherer III at the time of his parents murders testified in court on Thursday that he was both “even-keeled” and “mechanical” when discussing their deaths.

Scherer III is on trial for the March 2008 brutal murder of his parents Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Charlene Abendroth, 57, in their Castlewood, California home.  Prosecutors allege that the younger Scherer, a poker player, owed substantial gambling debts and bludgeoned the couple in order to obtain a $1.5 million inheritance.  The elder Scherer had previously refused a loan to Ernie. 

Pamela Nichols, a Las Vegas resident, claimed to have met Ernie Scherer III through a Craigslist ad he placed. The married Scherer described himself as a “single, humorous flying trapeze enthusiast”. 

According to the testimony, the two finally met face-to-face on March 6, 2008 in a lounge at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.  He only mentioned an ex-girlfriend at the time and not his current wife.

On March 14, Ernie cancelled a subsequent date with Ms. Nichols, advising her that his parents home had been broken into and that they were murdered.

His tone, she said, was “detached and discombobulated, like he was still trying to process it”. 

She added: “His reaction wasn’t what I would’ve expected. It was like he was walking through steps.”

Nichols reached out to Scherer III after the murders.

“He didn’t cry or anything,” she said. “It just seemed like he was back to normal.”

She said the two lost touch thereafter once Pamela learned he had a wife and child.

Gambling911.com at the time was instrumental in working with the Alameda County Sherriff’s Department in reaching out to possible associates of Scherer III prior to his capture via its Internet-based worldwide coverage of the slayings.  Scherer III was well known on the poker circuit at the time.  His father was also a poker player.

- Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher