BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – A Brown County Judge will issue a written decision by September 11 on what evidence will be allowed in the October jury trial of a man accused of committing a May 2016 Bellevue murder.
At a Wednesday motion hearing, George Burch’s attorneys argued text messages between the late Nicole VanderHeyden and her boyfriend Douglass Detrie and testimony from Detrie’s ex-girlfriends should be allowed.
Defense attorneys say that information should be introduced since it was originally used to arrest Detrie, who was never charged, for the murder.
They are trying to argue that Detrie is the real culprit.
Defense Attorney Scott Stebbins says “the jury is going to be asking ‘how could Detrie have developed the motive to murder the mother of his child? How could he do this?’ They can’t answer that question unless they have the full forest and the full context of this relationship.”
Prosecutors claim that would be using someone’s past to implicate them in a crime.
Brown County District Attorney David Lasse says “they’re asking to put a tree in front of the actual evidence that ties someone to this crime. They simply want you to look at Doug Detrie’s past.”
Investigators say Burch’s DNA and cell phone movement place him in the field where VanderHeyden’s body was found.
There is a stipulation that Burch must testify before his attorneys can accuse Detrie.
The two-week trial is set to get underway October 2.
