GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The man arrested for the death of his live-in girlfriend in Brown County has been released from jail.
Douglass Detrie was freed from jail on Friday.
This comes after prosecutors say they’re not confident they have enough evidence to tie him to the beating death of Nicole VanderHeyden.
VanderHeyden’s body was found May 21 in a field near Bellevue. Two days later, Detrie was arrested in connection with her death.
Detrie walked out of the Brown County Jail without saying anything to reporters.
“We’re not comfortable that we have sufficient evidence that he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Because of that I’m not comfortable issuing criminal charges,” Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said, according to FOX 11.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Department last Friday held a news conference asking the public for more help cementing their timeline of events leading up to VanderHeyden’s death.
A Brown County Court Commissioner agreed with Lasee to vacate a probable cause decision made against Detrie 16 days ago. It included a $1 million cash bond.
“We are appreciative of District Attorney Lasee’s thoughtful consideration of what to do in today’s case,” said Emily Lonergan, Detrie’s attorney. “We understand it’s not an easy decision fo rhim to make, but we think he made the right decision.”
Brown County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement on the investigation:
“We are working closely with the District Attorney’s Office as we investigate this case. This is a complex investigation. Evidence recovered from multiple locations is being examined by the Wisconsin State Crime Labs. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab has prioritized this case and we are working closely with them to obtain useful information from the evidence.
We do not have lab results for most of the items we have collected in this investigation. The analysis of this quantity of evidence will take more time. We expect to be able to focus our investigation in the weeks ahead as we receive results from the crime lab.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office has and will continue to devote considerable resources toward this investigation. We are investigating all leads with the purpose of holding the perpetrator accountable and seeking justice for Nicole, her family and her friends.“
Prosecutors previously said the evidence they have is what appeared to be blood outside the home and in VanderHeyden’s vehicle. An apparent shoe print was also found on her body, which investigators believe matches a pair of Air Jordan shoes found in Detrie’s home.
“Mr. Detrie is appreciative and thankful that the investigation is continuing and wants it to continue and really wants to find the correct person who did this,” said Lonergan.
Detrie’s attorney says he will be staying in Green Bay, in hopes of finding justice in the case.
