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[GRIM MUSIC]
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NANCY GRACE: Marinette County,
Wisconsin, July 9, 1976--
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sadly, on this day, a loving
young couple meets a cruel end.
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JERRY SAUVE: David
was deceased outside
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of a rustic campground toilet.
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400 yards away, in ferns and
bushes and brush in the woods,
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they found the female victim.
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NANCY GRACE: What
could drive a person
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to commit such a brutal act?
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This was sexually motivated.
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He wanted to sexually
assault Ellen,
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but he had to get rid
of David to do that.
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NANCY GRACE: Other campers tell
police a mysterious individual
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is lurking in the park.
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They saw an individual
walking out of the woods
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carrying a rifle.
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NANCY GRACE: Detectives
pursue many leads,
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but the case goes cold.
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PATT MORRISON: Police
just ran out of options,
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ran out of possibilities, and
nothing further could be done.
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NANCY GRACE: This is the
story of a 43-year-long search
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for the killer of a young,
engaged couple, a couple who had
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their whole lives before them.
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I'm Nancy Grace.
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This is "Bloodline Detectives."
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[THEME MUSIC]
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[FOREBODING MUSIC]
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NANCY GRACE:
McClintock County Park,
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a scenic natural park located
in Marinette County, Wisconsin--
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in 1976, it's a popular spot for
camping and outdoor activities.
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BARRY DEGNITZ: McClintock County
Park has a small campground
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in the south part of it.
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And north part of it,
there's another parking area.
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There's some hiking
trails there.
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It's a very,
very secluded park.
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It's kind of a big,
circular driveway
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that has little offshoots
that are campsites.
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NANCY GRACE: In this
seemingly serene park,
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a terrible discovery
is about to be made.
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DESHEA MORROW: On July 9,
1976, a park caretaker--
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his name was Stanley--
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he went into the camp area.
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And when he got
to the restroom--
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which is basically like an
outhouse-- he saw a body.
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He went up to the male and
couldn't get a response.
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There was no telephone in
McClintock Park at that time.
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And right after he
made this discovery,
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there was another
man, Lance Timper.
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He and his girlfriend
were driving,
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happened to drive through the
McClintock Park camping area.
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And Stanley flagged
him down and said, hey,
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there's this man over here
that's not responsive.
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Lance Timper was actually
an off-duty Marinette police
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officer.
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And so Lance Timper
went over and discovered
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that the male was deceased.
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And so Stanley, after hearing
that, drove up to Goodman Park,
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which had a telephone, and
that's about a 10-minute drive.
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NANCY GRACE: Stanley,
the park caretaker,
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rushes to Goodman Park
and finds the payphone.
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DESHEA MORROW: And so then
Stanley went up and called
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Marinette County dispatch and
was received at, like, 2:53 PM.
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The first patrol officer
was Deputy Girou.
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And so he went there and, yes,
helped to secure the scene,
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basically, with tape, indicating
that it was a police scene
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and that people could not
enter without authorization.
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They knew enough
that this was probably
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going to be a big enough scene
that they needed to contact
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the State Division of Justice.
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So basically, they just
secured the scene that night,
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as it was getting close to
dark, when most help was
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able to arrive and
waited until the Crime
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Lab and Department of Justice
arrived in the morning.
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When they arrived and they
saw the body of the male
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by the women's restroom
there, they looked around.
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Basically, what he was wearing
was a T-shirt, some shorts.
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He had a camera that had
been around his neck.
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He had a hat that was
not on his head anymore,
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but was on the
ground next to him.
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GARY HAMBLIN: Items of
clothing that may be damp
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or whatever, you
want to make sure
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that you put those in paper
bags and preserve them,
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not in plastic bags.
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If you put them in
plastic bags, the evidence
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will deteriorate quickly.
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The sheriff's office
did an excellent job
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of preserving the crime scene
and immediately requesting
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a field response unit from
the Wisconsin State Crime
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Laboratory, rather than trying
to pick up things on their own
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that they may or may not
have handled appropriately.
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DESHEA MORROW: They also
found a wallet as well,
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and that was significant because
if it had been a robbery,
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then they would have
expected that valuables
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would have been taken,
and that was not the case.
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BARRY DEGNITZ: They
found a billfold that
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had his identification
in it, and they
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got his name off of that.
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The male victim was
identified as David Schuldes.
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NANCY GRACE: So far, police have
identified one homicide victim,
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but their investigation
is just beginning.
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Detectives searched the
area for more evidence,
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and soon, they discover a nearby
tent and a terrible crime scene.
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TODD BALDWIN: When the officers
went and viewed the tent,
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they were able to determine that
there was probably a female who
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was with him, but
not, of course,
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located at the
scene at that time.
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Now, Lance Timper had
gone to the campsite.
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There was a car, an AMC Gremlin,
and had looked inside the car,
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and he noted a female's
purse inside the car.
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But at that point, they
did not locate the female.
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TODD BALDWIN: It was
shortly after they
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began the search
that they did locate
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the body of Ellen Matheys.
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They located her about
150 yards away from David.
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And she was in a wooded area,
and she was partially clothed.
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GARY HAMBLIN: There
was a short-sleeve,
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summer-weight sweater that
was partially over her head.
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It appeared to investigators
that she was-- possibly had
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been stripped because the
undergarments were gone,
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but the shorts
were partially on.
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They did locate her
underwear about 10
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to 15 feet away from the body.
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In Wisconsin, the
coroner is called
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to the scene of any unexpected
death and any violent death.
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The coroner makes the
pronouncement of death.
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The bodies would have been
transported to Madison.
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BARRY DEGNITZ:
During the autopsy,
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they're looking for the
cause and manner of death.
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TODD BALDWIN: It was
determined that David Schuldes
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died pretty much immediately
with the gunshot wound
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to the neck.
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Ellen Matheys, it was
determined that she had died
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from two gunshot wounds,
one to the chest,
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one to the upper abdomen.
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She likely was shot
in the abdomen first.
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That would not have killed her.
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It would have dropped
her to the ground.
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The shot that likely
would have killed her
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would have been the shot
to the right breast,
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going out the left breast,
because it transected
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the aorta and the heart.
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Because of some of the
scrapes and scratches
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and cuts and the semen
found in her shorts,
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they had pretty much
determined that there was
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a sexual assault that occurred.
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NANCY GRACE: Marinette County
detectives attend the funerals
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of both victims, hoping they
might see some attendees acting
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suspiciously.
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They went to the
young couple's funeral
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and were vigilant for people who
were not members of the family,
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were not friends, who
were hanging out there
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for what reason.
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Because sometimes killers do get
a kick out of seeing how people
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react to their crimes,
the mourning, the grief
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that people are suffering.
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Some of them, shall
we say, get off on it.
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It's just one more step that
police departments and sheriff's
00:08:43
offices can take
to try and develop
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information when none exists.
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Investigators now on
the hunt for suspects
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in a double homicide.
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Will their leads
be strong enough
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to catch a cold-blooded killer?
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We find out next on
"Bloodline Detectives."
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[AUDIO LOGO]
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[AUDIO LOGO]
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[SOMBER MUSIC]
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NANCY GRACE: 1976,
Marinette County, Wisconsin,
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a young couple brutally murdered
July 9 at a popular campground.
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The victims are ID'd
as an engaged couple,
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25-year-old David Schuldes
and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys.
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David Schuldes shot in the neck,
Ellen also killed by gunshot,
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but not before she's
brutally raped.
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He was attending
the University
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of Wisconsin in
Green Bay and worked
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at the "Green Bay Newspaper."
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Ellen, she had graduated
from the University
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of Wisconsin, Green Bay, and
worked in the library there.
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But they were a happy young
couple, and they were engaged.
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They had no enemies.
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And they just enjoyed getting
out in nature and spending time
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together.
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They liked to camp, and they
liked to get away and do things.
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Appeared, by all accounts, to
just be a young couple in love,
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planning to be married
later that year.
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And they were
excited about that.
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In '76, it was pretty rare
to see any kind of homicides
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or violent crimes being
committed in Marinette
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or Marinette County.
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[TENSE MUSIC]
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JERRY SAUVE: It
just always stood
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out to me as like,
how could something
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like this happen there?
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TODD BALDWIN: In
fact, to this day,
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people don't go to
McClintock Park out of fear
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and because of what
had occurred there.
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NANCY GRACE: Marinette
County detectives
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ask the local community
for any information that
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could lead them to the killer.
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DESHEA MORROW: They went
all over Marinette County
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to different convenience
stores, campgrounds, you know,
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just any place that people
would have frequented,
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trying to see if anybody saw
anyone suspicious or anything
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suspicious.
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They did an immense
amount of work
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on the ground to try to
develop any type of lead.
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TODD BALDWIN: They arrived at
approximately 2:00 PM on July 9,
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1976, set up their
camp, put things away.
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Their tent was
very neat and tidy.
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David did enjoy taking pictures
of the wildlife and things
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like that.
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So finding him with a
camera around his neck,
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officers at the time believed
that they were probably
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attempting to go for a
nature walk and see some
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of the wildlife in the area.
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[OMINOUS MUSIC]
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Ellen had to use
the bathroom, so she
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went into one of the outhouses.
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And when David was
waiting outside,
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somebody from a
distance fired a round
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and shot him through his neck
with a high-powered rifle.
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At that point, Ellen was
taken from the bathroom,
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marched into the
wooded area, where
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she was sexually assaulted.
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After the sexual
assault occurred,
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the suspect allowed her to
put her jean shorts back on.
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And as she was putting her
shirt back over her head,
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when it just got
over her head, is
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when we believe the shots were
fired, striking her in the chest
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and the abdomen, killing her.
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As the word got out about
the murders in McClintock Park,
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some information was generated.
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There were people that came
forth with information.
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They were two police
officers from Green
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Bay, Wisconsin, which
is about an hour
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south of Marinette County.
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He and his wife and another
officer and his wife
00:13:03
were there camping prior to
the murders in McClintock Park.
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As they were sitting around
the campfire in the evening,
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they said they noticed
a person standing
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off some distance in the woods.
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They could see the silhouette
of an individual standing there.
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They started to walk
toward that individual,
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and the person disappeared.
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So they came back, sat around
the campfire some more.
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Got a little bit
later in the evening,
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and noticed a silhouette some
distance away in the woods
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again.
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That time, instead of going
toward the individual,
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they went to their tent to
retrieve their service weapon.
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When they came back, the
individual was gone again.
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At the time, they thought
it was suspicious,
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but didn't give it
a lot of thought
00:13:52
until they also learned of the
murders in McClintock Park.
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And at that time,
they came forward
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with that piece of information.
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NANCY GRACE: Investigators
focus on the crime scene,
00:14:06
and they locate a vital
piece of evidence.
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TODD BALDWIN: Investigators
recovered a bullet
00:14:14
fragment, a jacket
from a fence that
00:14:18
was outside of the outhouse.
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That bullet had gone
through David's throat.
00:14:23
And that one had grooves
and striations on it
00:14:26
that the crime lab
was able to tell
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our investigators that
if you locate this gun,
00:14:31
we can positively ID it.
00:14:33
So a lot of effort
went into looking
00:14:35
for a 30 caliber rifle,
which is what they
00:14:37
determined caused the homicide.
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GARY HAMBLIN: Unfortunately, 30
caliber weapons are extremely
00:14:44
common in Northern Wisconsin.
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It's a very common
hunting weapon.
00:14:48
So in the course of
the investigation,
00:14:50
we collected a number of
weapons, 30 caliber weapons,
00:14:53
and submitted them to the crime
laboratory, none of which,
00:14:55
of course, matched
the bullets that
00:14:57
were recovered at the scene.
00:14:59
TODD BALDWIN: The day after
these homicides occurred,
00:15:02
two young men indicated
to their parents
00:15:04
that they might have seen
the suspect in the case.
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McClintock Park has
a sister park that
00:15:11
is actually a walking park.
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It's about a half a mile
north of the campgrounds.
00:15:20
And they had stopped
there at the time,
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and they were walking
around down by the river
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when they heard a gunshot.
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[GUNSHOT]
00:15:30
DESHEA MORROW: It sounded
like a rifle shot.
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These were young men that
were experienced hunters
00:15:35
and grew up around
that, so they knew
00:15:36
what a rifle shot sounded like.
00:15:38
And those two got
back in the vehicle.
00:15:41
And then they traveled
out to the main road,
00:15:43
and they drove south towards
McClintock Park campground.
00:15:47
As they were driving, they
look off to the right,
00:15:50
and they see an individual
who they described as about 20
00:15:52
to 30 years old, dressed
in a military-style jacket,
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wearing boots, and
carrying what they thought
00:15:59
was like a 30 caliber rifle.
00:16:01
And he was walking through the
woods at a pretty good pace.
00:16:04
They assumed he was
about 15 to 20 feet away
00:16:06
from them when they drove by.
00:16:08
Unusual, but not unheard of.
00:16:10
People do hunt out of season.
00:16:12
That's called poaching.
00:16:13
That does happen here.
00:16:14
And so that's kind of what
they thought was happening.
00:16:17
Somebody was hunting
out of season.
00:16:18
And didn't give
it a whole lot more
00:16:20
thought until they heard about
the homicide investigation.
00:16:24
So they briefly caught
a glimpse of this man
00:16:27
and described that man to law
enforcement as best they could.
00:16:32
Law enforcement engaged the
services of a composite artist,
00:16:35
and they developed a
pretty rudimentary sketch
00:16:38
of this person that they saw.
00:16:41
There was also, on the other
side of the road from where
00:16:44
this man had been spotted,
the other side of Parkway
00:16:46
Road, a Plymouth vehicle.
00:16:48
And one of the young
men was able to give
00:16:50
a partial license plate.
00:16:52
It appeared to be like a
Michigan license plate.
00:16:54
Obviously, one of the
first things that we did
00:16:55
was contact the
Michigan State Police
00:16:57
and got a printout
of any license plate
00:17:00
that could possibly come
up with that combination.
00:17:03
So law enforcement
went off what they had,
00:17:07
which was this person
walking with the 30 caliber
00:17:10
rifle and the description
and the composite,
00:17:12
as well as looking
for this vehicle.
00:17:16
They went and scoured all of
the surrounding campgrounds
00:17:20
or convenience
stores, any place that
00:17:23
may have information
where somebody
00:17:25
may have driven through.
00:17:26
And so then asked
people if they had
00:17:28
seen a vehicle similar to the
one found across the road,
00:17:32
if they had seen anyone
matching that description
00:17:34
or seen anything
suspicious at all,
00:17:37
or if they had seen
Ellen and David.
00:17:40
Unfortunately, the
leads really weren't
00:17:43
significant at that time.
00:17:45
The main thing they
were focusing on,
00:17:46
again, was the composite sketch.
00:17:50
That's really the
only thing that they
00:17:52
had that was solid at the time.
00:17:57
NANCY GRACE: Unfortunately,
investigators
00:17:59
cannot identify that
mysterious man in the woods.
00:18:03
Meanwhile, new
leads are drying up.
00:18:07
Weeks turned into months.
00:18:09
Marinette County investigators
are losing their momentum.
00:18:15
BARRY DEGNITZ: In the later
'70s, it really dropped off,
00:18:18
not due to lack
of effort or lack
00:18:21
of wanting to solve the crime.
00:18:23
They had gone through all
the investigative leads
00:18:25
that they could,
and it didn't lead
00:18:27
them anywhere to a resolution.
00:18:32
NANCY GRACE: The
case may be cold,
00:18:34
but Marinette County detectives
will not give up in solving
00:18:38
this double homicide.
00:18:40
As the years pass,
so do advancements
00:18:43
in forensic science,
and it offers new hope.
00:18:46
Can the killer's DNA be the
key to unlock this mystery?
00:18:52
That's next on
"Bloodline Detectives."
00:18:55
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:18:59
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:19:02
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:19:03
NANCY GRACE: Marinette
County, Wisconsin, 1996--
00:19:07
detectives looking for
new clues in a 20-year-old
00:19:11
double homicide.
00:19:13
25-year-old David Schuldes
and his beloved fiancée,
00:19:18
24-year-old Ellen
Matheys, are discovered
00:19:22
murdered in a campground 1976.
00:19:26
A double homicide
investigation is active again,
00:19:30
but new leads are scarce.
00:19:33
BARRY DEGNITZ: Back in 1976,
technology was a little bit
00:19:35
different than it
is now, and they
00:19:38
relied heavily on fingerprints
and serology and blood typing.
00:19:43
And serology is, like,
the analysis of fluids.
00:19:45
And then blood typing, if
they have blood available,
00:19:49
they can, like, do a type of,
like, A, B, O, or whatever.
00:19:52
And in some fluids, like
semen, some men are excreters,
00:19:56
and you can determine
their blood type
00:19:58
because they are excreters.
00:20:00
CECE MOORE: Typically,
the best result
00:20:02
comes from a blood sample.
00:20:04
However, we also can get very
pristine DNA samples from semen.
00:20:10
NANCY GRACE: Investigators
make a breakthrough.
00:20:12
They identify the blood
type of the killer
00:20:16
from semen samples taken from
Ellen Matheys's clothing.
00:20:21
GARY HAMBLIN: All we had was the
fact that the person was a type
00:20:24
O blood and was a secretor.
00:20:26
And unfortunately, type
O-positive is the most common
00:20:29
blood type, and so that
didn't help us much
00:20:31
as far as identifying anyone.
00:20:33
It was extremely important that
evidence be collected properly.
00:20:37
It was extremely critical that
our state crime laboratory
00:20:41
preserve that evidence, and
as long as it was preserved
00:20:44
and was able, as
technology improved,
00:20:47
to eventually develop
a DNA profile.
00:20:52
NANCY GRACE: Despite this
solid lead, the case,
00:20:55
again, goes cold.
00:20:57
Then, in the mid '90s, a new
generation of detectives pull
00:21:01
the cold case off the shelf.
00:21:04
BARRY DEGNITZ: Detective
Sergeant Craig Bates,
00:21:06
he was tasked with investigating
the old homicide cases that were
00:21:10
not resolved in Marinette
County, and one of them
00:21:13
was the McClintock
County Park homicides.
00:21:16
The early '90s was
kind of the start
00:21:18
of using DNA in police work.
00:21:21
NANCY GRACE: Detective Bates
learns about advancements in DNA
00:21:25
profiling, and he
hopes an updated
00:21:28
analysis of the
biological sample
00:21:30
will lead police to a suspect.
00:21:34
BARRY DEGNITZ: And he took some
of the evidence from the case
00:21:37
and sent it to a couple
of different labs
00:21:40
throughout the country
that did DNA analysis,
00:21:42
and they were able to develop a
DNA profile from the semen that
00:21:46
was in the shorts.
00:21:48
That profile was entered into
the CODIS, which is Combined
00:21:51
DNA Identification System.
00:21:53
It's a computerized
database for known offenders
00:21:57
and for unknown suspects.
00:21:59
And they kind of compare
them on a regular basis.
00:22:03
So if you have an
unknown suspect profile,
00:22:06
you import that into
the DNA database.
00:22:09
And if it matches,
you'll get a notification
00:22:11
that there's a match.
00:22:12
TODD BALDWIN: The
results were negative.
00:22:14
We weren't able to
connect our suspect's DNA
00:22:18
with any other suspects
in the United States
00:22:20
or any other crimes
in the United States.
00:22:24
NANCY GRACE: Investigators
still unable to locate
00:22:26
a match for the suspect's
profile in the CODIS database.
00:22:30
Then in 2018, they
turned to Parabon
00:22:34
NanoLabs, a DNA technology
company based in Virginia.
00:22:39
Parabon is a leader
in forensic science.
00:22:45
CECE MOORE: Parabon is a
genetic technology company.
00:22:49
So they do a number of things,
and those include snapshot
00:22:52
phenotyping, where they
can predict someone's
00:22:56
physical traits based on
their DNA, so hair color, eye
00:23:00
color, shape, face, skin color.
00:23:02
If they are contracted to
do so from law enforcement,
00:23:06
they can create an image
that is an approximation
00:23:10
of what someone would look
like, just based on their DNA.
00:23:13
So it's not meant to be a
photographic image of somebody.
00:23:17
However, it should be consistent
with that person's traits.
00:23:21
JERRY SAUVE: Detective Baldwin
came in to see me and said,
00:23:25
we need to talk about this.
00:23:27
We want your take on this.
00:23:29
This is something we
should pursue in this case
00:23:32
because we have this profile.
00:23:35
When I started watching what
Parabon NanoLabs was doing
00:23:39
and Cece Moore's work and
her associates at work,
00:23:44
I almost came off of my chair.
00:23:45
I remember thinking,
my goodness,
00:23:48
yes, we have to do that.
00:23:49
We primarily work
cases where there's
00:23:52
an unidentified
violent criminal,
00:23:54
a rapist or a murderer.
00:23:57
Many of these
cases are very old.
00:23:59
They've been cold cases
for years or decades.
00:24:01
We also work some
more active cases.
00:24:04
So what we are
trying to do is help
00:24:06
law enforcement
identify the person
00:24:08
responsible for a violent crime.
00:24:11
And if it's a more
active case, we
00:24:12
might even be able
to help them stop
00:24:14
that criminal in their tracks.
00:24:16
And we coordinated
with the crime lab
00:24:18
and them to provide
the DNA sample to them
00:24:22
so they could do
their work on it.
00:24:23
DESHEA MORROW: And Parabon
did do a phenotype sketch
00:24:26
of the suspect based on the DNA
found in Ellen Matheys' shorts.
00:24:32
BARRY DEGNITZ: They told us
that it was a male, primarily
00:24:34
of Northern European descent,
fair-complected, either,
00:24:38
like, reddish or light
brown hair, blue eyes,
00:24:41
and probably had some freckling.
00:24:43
It was, like, 40
years after the event,
00:24:46
so if he was 25 at
the time, 65 would
00:24:48
have been his approximate age,
we thought, when we conducted
00:24:52
the sketch through Parabon.
00:24:54
After we did get that sketch,
we had a press conference
00:24:57
and put that out
to the TV stations.
00:24:59
DESHEA MORROW: To the
newspapers and to the public,
00:25:01
asking if there were any new
leads or information that could
00:25:05
be generated based
on the suspect having
00:25:08
these particular
physical characteristics.
00:25:13
And we developed
probably about 70
00:25:16
leads from various people.
00:25:18
We started to track down
these people and, you know,
00:25:21
talk to them.
00:25:22
Hey, what do you
know about this case?
00:25:23
Would you be willing
to consent to give
00:25:25
us DNA to compare in the case?
00:25:30
TODD BALDWIN: And we were
able to go out and swab
00:25:33
each one of those individuals.
00:25:34
None of the 70, of course,
ever hit on the DNA profile
00:25:39
that our suspect had.
00:25:43
NANCY GRACE: The
suspect still at large,
00:25:45
but this new generation of
investigators will not give up.
00:25:49
Once again, detectives look
to Parabon NanoLabs for help.
00:25:54
They want to try a
revolutionary, new forensic
00:25:58
technique that's cracking
the coldest of the cold cases
00:26:02
across the country.
00:26:04
BARRY DEGNITZ: So
when Parabon told us
00:26:06
about the sketch and the
genetics of the person,
00:26:10
they said another
service they do
00:26:12
is this investigative
genetic genealogy.
00:26:15
And they told us that
based on the person's DNA,
00:26:18
they could compare DNA to people
that are in other data banks
00:26:23
and try to match DNA and
build family trees from that.
00:26:27
CECE MOORE: I'm one of the early
pioneers of using autosomal DNA
00:26:32
to help people learn more
about their family tree
00:26:35
and their genetic heritage.
00:26:37
Autosomal DNA is the type
of DNA you inherit from all
00:26:41
of your great-grandparents,
back to your third and fourth
00:26:45
great-grandparents.
00:26:46
So you inherit 50% from your
mother and your father--
00:26:49
everyone does-- about 25% from
each of your grandparents,
00:26:53
and about 12.5% from
each great-grandparent.
00:26:57
And so it can inform us about
all the different branches
00:27:01
of your family tree.
00:27:02
And it became apparent
very early on in my work
00:27:06
that this incredibly powerful
tool for human identification
00:27:10
was applicable to
law enforcement
00:27:12
cases, both unidentified
human remains
00:27:15
and identifying unknown
violent criminals.
00:27:19
NANCY GRACE: December 21, 2018--
00:27:22
Parabon NanoLabs deliver
Marinette County investigators
00:27:26
an incredibly strong lead.
00:27:29
The genealogists
have generated a pool
00:27:32
of suspects using the killer's
DNA from the crime scene.
00:27:38
That DNA is linked to the
Vannieuwenhoven family.
00:27:43
They live in the Green
Bay, Wisconsin area.
00:27:48
DESHEA MORROW: They had
a number of children,
00:27:50
including four sons.
00:27:53
They looked at the
Vannieuwenhoven sons
00:27:56
in the beginning of 2019.
00:28:00
BARRY DEGNITZ: Todd Baldwin
was the primary lead
00:28:02
investigator in this case.
00:28:04
And the first of the
brothers that they focused on
00:28:07
was the closest in age to what
we thought the person was.
00:28:10
And they wound up doing
a garbage or a trash
00:28:13
pick at his house.
00:28:15
As soon as he put the garbage
out, me and another detective
00:28:19
went, obtained the garbage.
00:28:21
BARRY DEGNITZ: And
they went through it,
00:28:23
and they developed
things out of the garbage
00:28:25
that they thought
would contain DNA.
00:28:26
One of them being an inhaler.
00:28:31
BARRY DEGNITZ: The DNA collected
from that garbage pull,
00:28:34
it was in the right family,
according to the crime
00:28:36
lab, but not the right person.
00:28:40
Investigators progressed
on to another brother, who
00:28:42
lived up in Florence County.
00:28:44
An investigator
named Tom Shallow
00:28:46
has a cabin just down the
road from this other brother.
00:28:50
And he said, yeah, he comes
over for coffee all the time.
00:28:53
So one day, the brother
came over for coffee.
00:28:56
Tom picked the coffee cup
up and sent that in as well.
00:29:02
And that was the same thing--
00:29:04
same family, wrong brother.
00:29:07
That narrowed us
down to two brothers.
00:29:09
One was deceased, and then we
had Ray, who was still alive.
00:29:13
Detectives now have
a current DNA sample
00:29:17
from Raymand Vannieuwenhoven.
00:29:20
But are investigators are
ready to corner a killer?
00:29:24
That's next on
"Bloodline Detectives."
00:29:27
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:29:31
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:29:34
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:29:36
NANCY GRACE: Marinette
County, Wisconsin, 2019--
00:29:40
detectives investigating the
1976 murders of 25-year-old
00:29:45
David Schuldes and his fiancée,
24-year-old Ellen Matheys,
00:29:51
the two found shot dead
in a local campground.
00:29:55
Now, over 40 years later, police
narrow down the suspect list
00:30:01
to one of four brothers.
00:30:04
His name, Raymand
Vannieuwenhoven.
00:30:08
TODD BALDWIN: Raymand
lived in a real remote area
00:30:12
on a dead end road.
00:30:15
And I surveilled him for
approximately a month,
00:30:18
was unable to ever
obtain any kind
00:30:21
of DNA left behind from him.
00:30:25
And he also didn't
have a garbage
00:30:27
pickup where he was located.
00:30:29
You had to take your
garbage to the dump.
00:30:32
So it was going to be hard
to obtain garbage from him.
00:30:35
So I asked an individual I
used to work with quite often
00:30:38
if he could do something
for me and try to obtain
00:30:42
Raymand Vannieuwenhoven's DNA.
00:30:45
The current chief deputy of
Oconto County and Detective
00:30:49
Baldwin developed a plan to
conduct a survey with Ray
00:30:53
because Ray kind of lived
in the middle of nowhere,
00:30:55
and it was hard to actually
do surveillance and follow him
00:30:58
around and try to get
a discarded cigarette
00:31:00
butt or something like that.
00:31:05
PATT MORRISON: They knocked
on his door and said, hey,
00:31:07
we're doing a survey of
what you think of policing
00:31:10
in this particular township.
00:31:12
Gave him the survey.
00:31:13
Raymand filled out the survey,
put it in the envelope,
00:31:16
and licked the
envelope to seal it.
00:31:21
NANCY GRACE: Raymand
Vannieuwenhoven's saliva sample
00:31:24
is compared to the DNA
left at the crime scene
00:31:27
over 40 years before.
00:31:30
It's a match.
00:31:33
We are very excited
because we finally
00:31:35
had narrowed down on a suspect.
00:31:36
And now it was just
a matter of putting
00:31:38
the rest of the
pieces of the puzzle
00:31:39
together as best as we could.
00:31:42
We developed a plan
to go arrest Ray
00:31:44
and conduct a search warrant of
his residence at the same time.
00:31:47
And we went there, and Detective
Baldwin and I went in first,
00:31:50
while the rest of
the crew staged
00:31:51
to conduct the search warrant.
00:31:54
And we met Ray at his house.
00:31:56
He invited us inside.
00:31:58
We explained, hey,
we're from the Marinette
00:32:00
County Sheriff's
Department, and you're
00:32:01
under arrest for homicide.
00:32:04
Ray just kind of put his head
down and turned kind of pale
00:32:08
and just went along with us.
00:32:09
He didn't argue.
00:32:10
He didn't ask what
this was about.
00:32:12
Nothing.
00:32:14
TODD BALDWIN: Throughout
the investigation,
00:32:15
we were under the impression
that the suspect was going to be
00:32:19
probably in his 60s or so.
00:32:22
I never expected that I would be
handcuffing an 82-year-old man
00:32:27
for a first-degree homicide.
00:32:31
BARRY DEGNITZ: We were hoping
we could find the murder weapon
00:32:33
or some kind of evidence.
00:32:34
Ultimately, we did
find a 30 caliber
00:32:37
30-30 rifle in his garage.
00:32:41
DESHEA MORROW: They
found some shell casings.
00:32:44
They sent those off
to the crime lab,
00:32:46
but those were not a match
for the bullet fragments
00:32:49
that had been found
at the crime scene.
00:32:52
But again, this was 40-something
years after the homicides.
00:32:56
Very likely he just disposed of
any shell casings that was used.
00:33:02
BARRY DEGNITZ: He grew
up in the rural Green
00:33:03
Bay Area and the Suamico area.
00:33:06
He worked as a metal
worker his entire life.
00:33:09
And we were told from
talking to people
00:33:11
that he was either
working or he was drinking
00:33:13
and drunk and angry.
00:33:15
PATT MORRISON: Raymand was 20
years old in 1950 when he was
00:33:19
arrested for attacking a couple
of teenage girls, a 17-year-old
00:33:24
and a 16-year-old.
00:33:25
The 17-year-old was walking
with friends when he grabbed her
00:33:29
and pulled her into a cemetery.
00:33:32
She was screaming, and her
friends came to her aid.
00:33:36
He was already married, but he
attacked these two young women.
00:33:43
He spent six months in prison,
and that seemed to be that,
00:33:46
although, nowadays, we would put
him on a sex offender registry,
00:33:50
which would flag him in
a way that didn't happen
00:33:52
back in the 1950s and '60s.
00:33:55
NANCY GRACE: Marinette
County detectives finally
00:33:58
have a prime suspect in the
double murders of David Schuldes
00:34:02
and Ellen Matheys back in 1976.
00:34:06
The suspect's name?
00:34:08
Raymand Vannieuwenhoven.
00:34:10
And as we see next on
"Bloodline Detectives,"
00:34:13
it's time to confront him.
00:34:16
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:34:20
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:34:23
[GRIM MUSIC]
00:34:25
NANCY GRACE: Marinette
County, Wisconsin, 2019--
00:34:28
detectives questioning Raymand
Vannieuwenhoven in the 1976
00:34:33
murders of 25-year-old
David Schuldes
00:34:36
and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys.
00:34:39
Vannieuwenhoven
accused of shooting
00:34:42
both and raping Ellen Matheys.
00:34:46
BARRY DEGNITZ: And then when
Detective Baldwin kind of
00:34:48
brought out the
pictures of the victims,
00:34:50
Ray got kind of angry
and really defensive.
00:34:54
He didn't show any
signs of sympathy
00:34:56
for the victims or any
remorse for what he'd done.
00:35:00
And claimed to have absolutely
no knowledge of the crimes
00:35:05
of David and Ellen.
00:36:24
DESHEA MORROW: He was
charged with two counts
00:36:26
of what was then called
first-degree murder
00:36:29
in the Wisconsin statute.
00:36:30
The sexual assault charge
we could not go forward
00:36:33
with because at
that time, there was
00:36:35
only a six-year
statute of limitations,
00:36:38
and that had expired.
00:36:40
NANCY GRACE: Charged
with two murders,
00:36:42
Raymand Vannieuwenhoven
is put in custody
00:36:45
while he awaits trial.
00:36:48
BARRY DEGNITZ: We're
concerned that he's
00:36:49
gonna have some kind of medical
event or medical condition,
00:36:52
which was gonna, you know,
take him away from us
00:36:54
before we had a chance
to put him on trial.
00:36:57
He had a stroke
and ended up being
00:37:00
sent to Mendota Mental Health
in Madison to be evaluated.
00:37:03
Initially, they thought he was
probably not competent to stand
00:37:06
trial or aid in his
defense, and ultimately,
00:37:08
they decided he was competent.
00:37:12
DESHEA MORROW: The trial
did not commence until, I
00:37:15
believe it was July 19 of 2021.
00:37:18
So yes, when you're dealing
with someone in their 80s
00:37:21
who did have some health issues,
certainly, that's a concern.
00:37:26
He was wheeled
into court, but I
00:37:28
thought his demeanor
was just cold
00:37:31
and didn't care what
was going on around him.
00:37:33
Prosecutor Mark Williams
gave the opening statement
00:37:36
for the state and just basically
outlined the evidence that we'd
00:37:40
collected from the crime scene,
and particularly, the shorts,
00:37:45
and how that was collected,
how those were preserved,
00:37:48
and then the DNA from those
shorts from, you know,
00:37:53
45 years earlier.
00:37:54
And then ultimately, a DNA
profile was taken from that.
00:37:58
He then talked about the
different investigative
00:38:00
techniques that the Marinette
County Sheriff's Office had
00:38:03
used, and how we ultimately came
to the Vannieuwenhoven family
00:38:06
and to Raymand
Vannieuwenhoven himself,
00:38:08
and how the evidence is going
to show the inarguable link
00:38:12
between Mr. Vannieuwenhoven
and the DNA in Ellen Matheys,
00:38:16
and how we were going to
put that together and show
00:38:18
that only Raymand
Vannieuwenhoven could
00:38:20
have killed Ellen and David.
00:38:24
NANCY GRACE: Prosecutors have
a strong case against Raymand
00:38:26
Vannieuwenhoven, even though
his defense team tries
00:38:30
to maintain his innocence.
00:38:32
They tried to separate
the sex and the semen
00:38:36
from the homicide to
try to say that there
00:38:39
wasn't a link between the two.
00:38:42
And then they tried to argue
that this male that had been
00:38:46
seen by our two witnesses
when they were driving
00:38:48
on Parkway Road,
they tried to argue
00:38:50
that that was some different.
00:38:51
Somehow, [LAUGHS] Raymand
had sex with Ellen
00:38:56
the day or two
before she goes up
00:38:58
with her fiancé
on a camping trip,
00:39:00
and then some other
random male kills them.
00:39:05
The jury didn't
buy that argument.
00:39:09
GARY HAMBLIN: The only thing I
can say about somebody like that
00:39:11
is he had to be a psychopath.
00:39:13
He knew what he was doing when
he was going through the woods,
00:39:16
carrying a rifle.
00:39:18
David and Ellen just happened
to be in the wrong spot.
00:39:23
He saw them there
and took his weapon
00:39:26
and killed them both, knowing
full well what he was planning
00:39:30
to do and carrying it out in the
way and the manner that he did.
00:39:34
This case is a really good
illustration of how powerful
00:39:37
investigative genetic
genealogy is for revealing
00:39:41
secrets of all kinds.
00:39:43
Your DNA can absolutely
tell the story,
00:39:47
no matter how old a
case is, no matter
00:39:49
when or where it happened.
00:39:52
[SOMBER MUSIC]
00:39:55
These young people were
killed, 24, 25 years old.
00:39:58
Never had a chance
to live their lives.
00:40:02
JERRY SAUVE: A tragedy.
00:40:03
He went on with his
life for that long,
00:40:06
and Ellen and David
were taken as a mid 20s,
00:40:11
vibrant, young couple.
00:40:12
Didn't seem fair,
didn't seem right.
00:40:14
But in the end, justice was
done, and we're proud of that.
00:40:20
NANCY GRACE: It
never seems right
00:40:22
when a young couple like David
Schuldes and Ellen Matheys
00:40:26
are struck down in cold blood.
00:40:29
Their dreams of a life
together with a family
00:40:32
are shattered forever.
00:40:35
But still, thanks to the
"Bloodline Detectives,"
00:40:39
a form of justice
is served up with
00:40:42
the conviction of their killer,
Raymand Vannieuwenhoven.
00:40:47
He would die almost
exactly 46 years
00:40:51
after he stole the lives of
a beautiful, young couple.
00:40:57
I'm Nancy Grace.
00:40:59
Thank you for joining us here
on "Bloodline Detectives."
00:41:03
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:41:07
[AUDIO LOGO]
00:41:10
[THEME MUSIC]
