STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A man accused of killing his wife in 1975 pleaded not guilty Friday.
83-year-old Richard Pierce, formerly of Door County, faces counts of first-degree murder and disinterment of the dead for the death of Carol Jean Pierce, whose body has never been found.
No trial date was set Friday and he’ll be back in court on May 31 for a status conference.
Pierce was arrested in Michigan, where he lived, in October.
Police say they have not found any remains, despite thoroughly searching the property.
Investigators say that around the time that Carol Jean Pierce disappeared the couple had been planning to move from Sturgeon Bay to Cheboygan, Michigan.
Prosecutors say Pierce has told different versions of the story to various people, despite his claims that his wife left him.
Richard Pierce benefited from Carol Jean Pierce’s death in a number of ways according to prosecutors, including “a pension unencumbered by a wife; most of the important belongings of their marriage; land and a home in Michigan; a new girlfriend weeks after Carol Jean’s disappearance, as well as the benefit of Carol Jean’s silence.”
The current prosecutors decided to move forward with the charges despite police saying that there has been no new evidence.
