Wisconsin man, 83, is deemed fit to stand trial for 1976 murder of couple at a campsite after being tricked into giving his DNA to cops who asked him to lick envelope

An 83-year-old man charged with brutally murdering a couple in a northeastern Wisconsin park in 1976 has been found competent to stand trial, after undergoing mental health treatment and multiple examinations.

A judge in Marinette County Circuit Court on Wednesday found that Raymand Vannieuwenhoven is able to understand the court proceedings and assist in his own defense.

Vannieuwenhoven was arrested and charged last year in the cold-case killings of David Schuldes, 25, and Ellen Matheys, 24, in McClintock Park in Silver Cliff, after police tricked the widowed father-of-five into licking an envelope to obtain a sample of his DNA. 

Raymand Vannieuwenhoven, 83, is wheeled into Marinette County Circuit Court in Wisconsin on Wednesday for a hearing during which he was found fit to stand trial for a 1976 double murder of a couple 

Vannieuwenhoven, seem in court of Wednesday, has undergone multiple psychiatric examination and mental health treatment since June 2019 

Vannieuwenhoven is accused of shooting to death Ellen Matheys, 24, and David Schuldes, 25

The couple were shot to death in McClintock Park in Silver Cliff, Wisconsin, on July 9, 1976, after setting up their tent at the campground

In March, Judge James Morrison ruled that Vannieuwenhoven did not understand the proceedings and could not assist in his own defense. The judge ordered him to undergo inpatient treatment at Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.

Last month, Vannieuwenhoven underwent a second psychiatric examination and an MRI scan, which indicated that he had not suffered a stroke in September, as was previously thought, reported Green Bay Press Gazette. 

Vannieuwenhoven, a widowed father-of-five, was arrested in March 2019 after he was tricked by deputies into licking an envelope to obtain a DNA sample, which produced a match to evidence at the crime scene 

Vannieuwenhoven on Wednesday entered the courtroom in a wheelchair and was asked by the judge if he believed he was competent for trial.

'Yes,' the double murder suspect replied in a gravely voice coming from behind a surgical mask.  

For decades, the widower and father of five children lived quietly among the 800 residents of Lakewood, a northeastern Wisconsin town surrounded by forests and small lakes.

Investigators did not have any major leads until 2018, when a DNA lab in Virginia identified the genealogical background of the suspect. Investigators said tests of Vannieuwenhoven's DNA from a licked envelope matched DNA collected at the crime scene.

Morrison has also reinstated $1million cash bond, WLUK-TV reported. A trial is scheduled to begin July 19, 2021. 

The murders of Schuldes and Matheys remained a mystery for over 40 years. 

Pictured is the house where Vannieuwenhoven lived in Lakewood, about 25 miles southwest from the site of the murders

The couple, from Green Bay, were killed on July 9, 1976, after setting up their tent at the campground. 

Schuldes was shot dead near the campground’s toilet. Matheys’ body was found the next morning in woods several hundred feet away. She was shot twice and had been sexually assaulted.

Vannieuwenhoven was charged in March after he was linked to the double homicide through 'genetic genealogy'.

This method has been used more frequently over the past year to identify suspects in cold cases around the country.

Todd Baldwin claimed that semen found on Matheys' clothing enabled DNA profiles to be developed in the 1990s by a private lab following advancements in technology.

Investigators first took DNA samples from two of Vannieuwenhoven’s brothers, who were ruled out as suspects after they were found to be only partial matches to the semen traces. 

Two DNA tests identified Raymand Vannieuwenhoven as a match, Baldwin said.

One was from an envelope that Vannieuwenhoven licked and sealed at the request of Oconto County Chief Deputy Darren Laskowski.

The deputy and his colleague knocked on Vannieuwenhoven’s door on March 6, pretending they wanted him to fill out a brief survey on area-policing. They told him to put the survey in an envelope and seal it with his tongue.

The second was provided by Vannieuwenhoven after a warrant was obtained following his March 14 arrest.

Marinette County Sherrif's Department issued pictures of what the suspect would've looked like at the time of the murder, , and several years later,

'We showed him the warrant. We gave him the cotton swabs … he swapped the inside of his cheeks and placed them in the container,' Green Bay Press Gazette reported Baldwin as saying. 

Defense attorney Lee Schuchart had argued there was no proof that the DNA results were related to the murders, Fox11 reported. 

He claimed: 'I think the state is glossing over the fact the only piece of evidence that they have of Mr. Vannieuwenhoven was on scene is sperm that was found inside Ellen’s shorts.

'There’s no connection at all to David Schuldes and the shooting that resulted in his death. There’s no connection between the two shootings in general. This could have been one shooting. This could have been two shootings.'

Judge Morrison dismissed a charge of first-degree sexual assault against Vannieuwenhoven as the statute of limitations had expired after six years. However there is no statute of limitation on homicide charges.