man 84 gets life sentences for killing an engaged couple in a 40-year-old cold case after cops tricked him into giving his dna by licking an envelope
An elderly Wisconsin man who got away with murder for more than 40 years was sentenced to consecutive life sentences Thursday for the 'depraved' 1976 killings of an engaged couple.
Raymand Vannieuwenhoven, 84, was convicted in July of fatally 1976 shooting 25-year-old David Schules and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys at McClintock Park in Silver Cliff, about 200 miles north of Milwaukee.
District Attorney DeShea Morrow called the crimes 'cold, vicious, and brazen,' during the sentencing, according to local media reports.
'Two lives snuffed out for a couple of minutes of Raymand Vannieuwenhoven's gratification,' said District Attorney DeShea Morrow during sentencing.
Judge James Morrison said the life sentences were appropriate due to the 'depraved' and 'unspeakable' nature of the crimes, WLUK-TV reported.
Raymand Vannieuwenhoven, 84, was convicted of two consecutive life sentences Thursday for the 'unspeakable' 1974 killings of an engaged couple
Ellen Matheys and her fiance David Schules were out for a walk when Vannieuwenhoven fatally shot the man before sexually assaulting and killing Matheys
The victims were camping July 9, 1976, and were on a walk when Vannieuwenhoven shot Schules dead. He then chased down the young woman and sexually assaulted her before firing two shots into her chest.
The killer lived undetected for decades in Lakewood, a northeastern Wisconsin town about 25 miles from the scene of the crime.
The father of five's arrest in 2019 came as a surprise to his next-door Wayne Sankey.
'I said, "You gotta be kidding me," Sankey told the Salt Lake Tribune. 'And then I told the wife and she couldn't believe it. "There's no way," she said. "Ray down the road?"'
Vannieuwenhoven was known by others to have a dark side, according to reports.
'I know this much - when he was drinking he was one son of a b***h,' Fred Mason, who works at a local dump, told the Tribune.
A sketch of the killer was released by the Marinette County Sheriff's Office in 1976
Police previously released composite images of how they believed the killer would have looked at the time of the crime and several years later
The slayings went unsolved for decades.
In 2019, investigators determined through genetic genealogy that a DNA sample taken from evidence at the crime scene came the Vannieuwenhoven family.
Police then tricked the killer into giving a DNA sample by visiting his home and asking 'if he would do a brief survey about policing in the various townships,' according to documents.
Vannieuwenhoven was charged with the murders in 2019, after living his life as a free man for more than 40 years
Police connected him to the case using genetic genealogy, the same type of technology
When he completed the survey, Vannieuwenhoven complied with the officers' request to seal the envelope with a lick, the documents said.
His DNA matched with a sample discovered inside Matheys' shorts more than 40 years earlier.
Wayne Sankey, who lived next door to Vannieuwenhoven, said he was shocked to learn of the arrest
Vannieuwenhoven was charged in March 2019 with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of first-degree sexual assault. The latter count was ultimately dismissed because the statue of limitations for such a charge had expired. There is no statute of limitations for homicide.
Prior to his sentencing Thursday, the victims' relatives shared statements in court and called for a life sentence.
'The rest of his life in prison wouldn't be much justice for what he did for David and Ellie and for the 45 years he stole from them, but at this point, it's the only justice that's left for them. I hope and pray that that justice will be handed down here today,' said Schules' sister JoAnn Mikulsky, the Wbay news station reported.
'We all just need to finally, finally find some peace.'
Relatives of Vannieuwenhoven's victims say they now hope to find some peace
Vannieuwenhoven lived in a Lakewood, Wisconsin, home about 25 miles from the scene of the crime
The genetic genealogy used in this case was previously used in April 2018 to nap the 'Golden State Killer'.
Joseph James DeAngelo admitted in court to at least 13 murders 13 rape-related charges across California in the 1970s and 80s.
WLUK-TV reported that Vannieuwenhoven gave a defiant and sometimes rambling statement during the sentencing hearing, criticizing District Attorney DeShea Morrow.
Several of the victims' family members asked Morrison to impose life sentences but Vannieuwenhoven's daughter said the only thing that Morrow proved was that her father had an affair.
Defense attorneys tried to introduce evidence implicating two other possible suspects but Morrison denied their motions, setting up a potential appeal.