Wisconsin Supreme Court declines to hear appeals rom 1976 Murder Case

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will not hear appeals in a local murder case, leaving the conviction in place for Raymand Vannieuwenhoven. The appeals court upheld the convictions, with the defendant appealing to the high court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court decides which cases it will hear; review is not automatic. In separate actions Wednesday, the court decided against hearing the appeals– which keeps the appeals court rulings in place. The orders did not include any reasoning for the decision, nor did they provide the tallies for the justices’ vote. Vannieuwenhoven was convicted for the 1976 murders of Ellen Mathys and David Schuldes at McClintock Park in Marinette County. The case was unsolved for decades until a 2019 DNA match linked Vannieuwenhoven to the case. The appeal claimed that the police violated Vannieuwenhoven’s Fourth Amendment rights by employing deceptive tactics to obtain a DNA sample. The appeals court rejected the claim. Vannieuwenhoven was sentenced to consecutive life terms in prison. He died in 2022.