GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)- Week two of the George Burch murder trial started with testimony from those who knew him well.
Those who lived with Burch were among the eleven witnesses that the state called to the stand on Monday.
The jury learned a little more about why George Burch was in Green Bay in 2016.
According to testimony, Burch moved to Green Bay from Virginia and lived with a longtime friend Edward Jackson and his wife Lynda Jackson.
Jackson testified that he knew Burch for over 20 years and made arrangements for him to come to Wisconsin and pay $100 dollars a week to live with them.
“He said that him and his wife were on the outs, and he had no place to go. I offered him to come out here and get a fresh start,” Jackson said. “He was going to stay in upstairs bedroom.”
Jackson testified that Burch did find employment, but got behind on his rent payments.
He also testified that he gave Burch a vehicle to use so he could get to and from work.
Edward Jackson was asked about a trip that he took with Burch right after the night that Nicole VanderHeyden was murdered.
Jackson testified that he went on a fishing trip to Racine with Burch, and that Burch slept most of the way there. The state asked Jackson if Burch had any signs of injury on his head, which Jackson testified that he did not. That is significant because Burch’s defense team is contending that he was knocked out by Doug Detrie when he found Burch and VanderHeyden getting intimate together.
Jackson also testified that he watched a news story on Nicole VanderHeyden’s murder with Burch after they got home, and recalled what he said to Burch when he first saw it.
“I said the scumbag that did this needs to be taken down.”
He was also asked if he remembered how Burch responded to the news story.
“He was intensely looking at the TV,” Jackson said.
He told the jury that the 1999 Blazer that he let Burch use was in a hit and run accident and ended up being junk. Testimony last week revealed that the vehicle could not be searched for evidence, but the state is inferring that it was the vehicle that Burch used to transport VanderHeyden’s body after the murder.
Green Bay police officer Robert Bourdelais testified on his interaction with Burch that the vehicle was reported missing by the Jacksons.
Bourdelais testified, that the vehicle ended up being evidence in a police investigation.
“I look up calls from the area from the night before, and noticed that the vehicle was involved in a vehicle fire and the vehicle was involved in a hit and run accident prior to the vehicle fire the night before.”
Bourdelais was questioned about Burch’s willingness to corporate with the hit and run investigation by surrendering his cell phone for a data download.
The officer testified that Burch willingly surrendered his cellphone so that text message data could be downloaded for the investigation.
“We asked him if he was willing to show us that information, and he did.”
That data ended up holding a stronger significance because the data placed Burch at four key places having to do with VanderHeyden’s murder. Green Bay Forensics Computer Examiner Kendayl Danelski testified that she was the one who downloaded data from Burch’s phone, but had to download all of the data because she was unable to only download certain files.
Raymond Lenz from the State Crime Lab testified for a short period of time about evidence that was found on VanderHeyden. Lenz confirmed that small pieces of wire were found on VanderHeyden’s clothes, and they came up as a match to the wires that were found in the yard across the street from the Detrie home. The state contends that the cord was used in the murder.
In the afternoon, the jury heard testimony from two other friends and roommates of Burch. They both testified that Burch liked to hang out the bar and try to pick up girls.
The state also called Burch’s girlfriend at the time, Jordan Schuyler, to the stand. Schuyler testified that she met Burch in 2016 at Blackstone Family Resturaunt in Green Bay, and dated him through the summer of 2016. Schuyler was asked if she noticed any bruises or injuries on Burch, or if he mentioned anything about the crime, which she said he did not mention anything and he did not have any injuries.
The State will have two more witnesses to call on Tuesday morning. At that point, it is expected that the state will rest its case, and the defense will start calling witnesses as early as Tuesday. The trial is still expected to be done by the end of the week.
Day 1: Opening Statements and Body Discovery
Day 4: Focus Turns To Evidence
Day 5: Burch Is Brought Up In Testimony
George Burch, is accused of killing Nicole VanderHeyden and leaving her body in a Bellevue field in May 2016.
Prosecutors say Burch’s cell phone activity ties him to multiple key sites from the night of VanderHeyden’s death.
Burch’s attorneys, after their client testifies, plan to introduce evidence that points the finger at VanderHeyden’s boyfriend Douglass Detrie.
Prosecutors say Fitbit evidence clears Detrie.
