APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Matthew Beyer’s lawyers plan to argue another man is responsible for the murders of his two children at their Kaukauna home in February, 2020. The trial is scheduled to start in September, but may be delayed.
Beyer, 37, is charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly killing William, 5, and Danielle, 3, who were found dead in their Kaukauna home on Feb. 17, 2020. Beyer also faces charges of taking a hostage and attempted escape in connection with an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the Outagamie County jail in June 2020. A two-week trial is scheduled to start Sept. 6.
In court Thursday, Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis said the state crime lab continues to do testing of evidence from the crime scene, including the use of relatively new and complex testing methods.
Because of that, defense attorney Amanda Skorr asked for the trial to be delayed because she needs to hire a different expert to review the reports and technology. She needs an expert to evaluate the technology to determine if and how to challenge its use in court. That review and associated hearings cannot be done before the scheduled trial date, she argued.
In court Thursday, Judge Mark McGinnis said while he recognizes the challenges, he wants additional information before agreeing to postpone the trial. It will be reviewed at an Aug. 8 hearing.
Meanwhile, Skorr said in court Thursday she plans to present an affirmative defense arguing to the jury another man killed the children.
According to a motion submitted by Skorr, this suspect “recently professed his love for the victims’ mother, and she did not reciprocate his feelings.” His car was seen near the home, and a neighbor saw a man meeting his description at the scene that day. Additionally, “police found buckets with clothes soaking in them in the basement” of his home shortly after the homicides, and his whereabouts cannot be definitively accounted for between 2 and 7 a.m. the day of the murders.
FOX 11 is not naming the individual because he has not been charged in the case.
Additionally, there is still a chance the homicide charges may be tried separately from the escape case, but that was not decided Thursday.
The children’s mother called police on Feb. 17, 2020, to report their deaths. The mother and Beyer both admitted they did not have a good relationship with each other and were scheduled to appear in court later that day for a family court hearing.
Beyer initially denied being at the scene but later admitted he was at the house — though he has denied killing them.
According to the autopsies, the children suffered multiple “sharp force” injuries.
Beyer was arrested in June 2020, with a $2.5 million cash bond set. In December 2020, a trial date in November 2021 was set, but that was postponed due to competency issues. In October 2021, the trial date for this fall was set.
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