The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, which has been accused of framing Steven Avery for a 1985 rape and planting numerous clues to convict Avery for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, has also been dogged by allegations it mishandled the 1999 hit-and-run death of a 17-year-old boy, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has learned.
The homicide of Ricky Hochstetler, who was struck by a vehicle while walking to his home along a frontage road, remains unsolved. The crime occurred at about 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 10, 1999 during a snowstorm.
On the morning of the fatality, Robert Jeffery of Newton found parts scattered in the snow at the seldom-used intersection of Center and Newton roads in rural Newton.
If the fleeing driver had turned onto Center Road, the village of Cleveland was about five minutes away.
Several sources who had ties to the investigation suspected that the hit-and-run driver was probably headed toward Cleveland.
But this critical clue soon fell by the wayside under the direction of Lt. Mike Bushman, the road deputy put in charge of the homicide by then-Manitowoc County Sheriff Tom Kocourek.
According to Bushman's report, the Newton resident “was unable to tell me which direction the suspect vehicle may have went after the pieces fell off.”
On the day of Hochstetler's funeral, multiple car parts were visible in the thawing snow at the far edge of the victim's driveway along Manitowoc County CR.
The boy's body was found 50 yards up the road.
"(The parts) were right up by the road," Manitowoc resident Sylvia (Hynek) Schmidt told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "I just remember I was thinking, 'This doesn't look like it had been weathered.'"
The parts appeared to be a section of headlight housing with letters and numbers stamped into it, Manitowoc sheriff's deputy Jason Jost reported at the time. "I also observed three other pieces of plastic lying just around the corner," Jost's Jan. 15, 1999 report stated.
All four of the parts "appeared to be from a newer style car," Jost wrote. There had been no other recent collisions along the two-lane highway around the time of her son's death, said Debi Hochstetler, the victim's mother. Nevertheless, Bushman determined that these fresh car parts were not relevant to his investigation.
Within hours of the overnight crash, juvenile detention center Lt. Rob Hermann, now the county sheriff, assured Bushman that the hit-and-run vehicle was a 1985 to 1988 Chevy truck, Suburban or Blazer.
Days later, Bushman speculated that the tiny pieces of broken grill found along the rural highway may also belong to a 1988 to 1991 full-size van.
It seemed that every decision Hermann and Bushman made put Manitowoc County farther away from identifying Ricky Hochstetler's killer.
From the outset, Kocourek, who did not return a message from USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, didn't make it a top priority for his detectives or deputies to canvass local bars, bowling lanes or late-night diners for leads and suspects; conduct any round-the-clock surveillance near the crash site or near the rural intersection in Newton where signs of evidence were found; inspect the salvage yards near Cleveland and Sheboygan, even though there was a strong chance the hit-and-run driver would fix or destroy his damaged vehicle to avoid suspicion; and scour the rural roads and ditches for additional vehicle debris that may trace back to the hit-and-run driver.
Kocourek also let several weeks pass before volunteer firefighters were summoned to the crime scene along County CR to melt down the snow and ice.
The effort yielded 126 gray grill pieces, three black pieces, two small pieces of Chevrolet emblem, one gold glasses frame and one lens, reports show. "Most were very small and of no identifying quality at this point and time," Bushman stated.
Weeks after the boy's death, a number of sheriff's department employees began to suspect that an off-duty deputy — after a night of drinking — struck and killed the rural Manitowoc teenager. Even the traffic patrol lieutenant who was in charge of the investigation was aware of the allegations, indicate reports reviewed by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
However, both Lt. Mike Bushman and then-Sheriff Tom Kocourek's administration declined to probe the activities of the two deputies who were being mentioned as possible suspects — Lt. Rob Hermann and his brother, Sgt. Todd Hermann.
Rob Hermann is now the sheriff of Manitowoc County...
Sources:
HTR Media
August 22, 2014
MANITOWOC – A federal judge ruled Tuesday former Manitowoc County board chairman Paul "Biff" Hansen went too far in stifling Jim Theyerl's constitutional right to express concerns about actions of county government and its employees.
Manitowoc County was a co-defendant in the suit filed last year by Theyerl alleging he was not "permitted to speak during the public input portion of any Manitowoc County Board meeting, on any subject" until certain conditions had been met.
William Griesbach of U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin's Green Bay Division affirmed Theyerl's First Amendment rights had been violated in awarding summary judgment to Theyerl.
County Corporation Counsel Steve Rollins said the next step will be a conference of the parties involved to determine if the case can be settled without need for a trial to determine possible awarding of monetary damages for the "emotional distress" Theyerl claims he suffered.
"The judge has determined the restriction (on Theyerl's ability to speak during public input at county board meetings) was overly broad," Rollins said. "The question now is what's the remedy."
"I am very pleased with the decision ...what Manitowoc County put me through as a taxpayer the last two years was unbearable," Theyerl, of Whitelaw, said Thursday in the wake of Griesbach's decision.
"I am looking for a settlement ...it will be a huge amount," Theyerl said, declining to be more specific.
Rollins said the county's insurance coverage covers outside attorneys' fees defense of the suit but not any damages that might be awarded to the retired truck driver. He said any financial settlement would need county board approval as a budgetary item.
Theyerl, 65, had appeared at several county board or committee meetings where during public input he sought to share information he claimed proved a county employee had viewed pornography on a work computer.
At a June 2012 county board meeting, Theyerl said he had 13 witnesses to the alleged viewing of pornographic images. However, none appeared at a subsequent ethics hearing several months later involving the particular employee.
In a July 2012 letter, Hansen told Theyerl he takes the allegations seriously and asked him to provide the name of the employee, specific description of the alleged misconduct and other details.
Theyerl's attempts to speak during public input were rebuffed by Hansen when such documentation was not provided. Hansen stated public input was not the time for unsubstantiated accusations.
"The most important thing for the public to understand is this decision in no way endorses the untrue statements about the county worker," Hansen said Thursday, expressing disappointment in Griesbach's ruling.
"It appears to be OK to make comments about other people without having any evidence and as untrue and egregious as those statements are ... they are protected by the First Amendment," Hansen said of his reaction to the judge's ruling.
He said supervisors have discussed limiting public input to only issues on the agenda. "But even with that, you could say you're going to speak on the budget and then get up" and make false statements impugning one's character.
With no delay on the cable TV broadcast of board meetings, Hansen said once the statements are made, they can't be taken back with the ensuing damage.
Ban went beyond
Griesbach said the case involves the balance of competing interests. He said the county board has an interest in maintaining order and decorum so it may efficiently handle the public's business. "It also does not want to provide an open forum for defamatory or personal accusations," the judge stated in a press release.
However, he said the effort to accomplish "these laudable goals can conflict with the individual citizen's right to free speech ... the First Amendment ... prohibits a government from discriminating against a particular speaker or viewpoint."
Griesbach said the ban prohibited Theyerl "from speaking at all, on any subject."
"There is no evidence that Hansen had the ability to read Theyerl's mind that he could regulate Theyerl's speech in advance," Griesbach stated.
He noted the plaintiff had previously expressed his views on what he considered were excessive employee salaries and other topics.
"In addition, even if Theyerl would have spoken 'about' his pornography allegations, there is no reason to believe that his speech would have been repetitive or defamatory," Griesbach stated.
If Theyerl had begun to repeat unsubstantiated allegations against the employee, "With deputies standing by, it would not have been difficult to enforce a very quick hook, and in fact that is what Hansen did on occasion," Griesbach stated.
Longtime Manitowoc educators to retire
By Ann Grote-Pirrung, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
May 25, 2016
When the last bell rings marking the end of the 2015-16 school year, Manitowoc Public School District will lose more than 60 years of experience as two long-term educators retire.
Paul "Biff" Hansen will retire after 38 years with the district, most recently as assistant principal at Lincoln High School, while Steven Kleinfeldt leaves after 26 years as a local elementary school principal, first at Jefferson Elementary and currently at Jackson Elementary.
The two retirees took some time recently to reflect on their rich history with the MPSD.
While Hansen has been teaching in Manitowoc County since 1978, his relationship with area schools began much earlier — 55 years, to be precise.
“I went to grade school at McKinley when I was 5 and graduated from Lincoln High School,” Hansen recalled.
He also worked as a coach at UW-Manitowoc and graduated from Silver Lake College with a degree in special education.
Hansen’s early career included stints at the Manitowoc County-run Special Ed School for the County, Two Rivers High School, Wilson Junior High and Lincoln High School, always working with children in special education.
“Always kids in need,” Hansen noted. “Always kids in need.”
Hansen has been at Lincoln High since 2001, teaching students with learning disabilities, before moving into administration in 2006.
“I was very much an advocate for getting the special ed kids in regular classes in schools,” he said. “That caused some bumps along the road for me as a special educator in the district and wanting us to go further than we were. I just got to a point where I needed something else and I thought that maybe by being an administrator I could help even more than being a classroom teacher.”
Studies show — and Hansen believes — special ed kids benefit from being with traditional ed kids and it helps the traditional ed kids, too.
At Lincoln, special ed students attend homecoming, prom and many other school events.
“A month ago at prom, there was a young lady who is confined to a motorized chair and she was on the floor dancing with other kids who don’t have disabilities. It was really cool that our kids did that,” he said. “I think it’s from growing up with differences from an early age.”
Hansen said the inclusion factor was one of the best — and probably biggest — change he’s seen through the years.
“The senior classes, for many years now, have been with kids with disabilities, and my hope is that it’s human nature to treat those kids with respect, and I think they do,” he said.
“Whenever I get teachers from the outside, they always talk about how good the kids with disabilities are treated in our buildings,” Hansen added. “Maybe that’s the thing that I’m most proud of.”
As an administrator, Hansen said his biggest challenge — and most important duty — was trying to get the special needs students across the stage with a diploma and developing programs to help them actually get a job while holding that diploma.
“Those are the kids that I hope I changed,” he said.
Sports have been a very integral part of both his schooling and his career. He played football while a student at Lincoln and also was an assistant football coach for 30 years. He also helped coach basketball for a few years.
“Athletics can teach you lessons that sometimes books can’t teach you … fall on your face, get up; get beat, get humiliated and come back from that,” he said. “I was fortunate because I worked with two gentlemen who were hall of fame coaches.”
Hansen said it’s very hard to leave. “But it’s time … it’s time,” he said. “There are a lot of other things I’d like to try.”
Hansen is also involved in city and county politics, and is a member of Out of Time, a rock and roll band.
“I figure Springsteen is 64 and he can still be singing,” he joked.
He leaves with a heart full of gratitude and hope for the future.
“I feel good about the district. I think the new superintendent, Mark Holzman, is strong and I like where he’s going and what he’s doing,” he said. “I have kind of had a storied career. I taught, I had my career in the city I grew up in, screwed up sometimes, but knew enough people who would forgive me, married a goddess, and raised three pretty good kids. I guess I got pretty lucky.”
He was insistent that Dave must join this club. Dave asked him why. Why should he be interested in joining this?
Retired Dep. BUSHMAN was “group leader” of the MTSO officers (including Bone-Finder JOST) who "discovered" the cell phone barrel the morning of Nov 7th. And not one CASO deputy anywhere in sight.
http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/12/manitowoc-sheriff-under-fire-1999-homicide/80862938/
http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/13/missteps-hamper-1999-hit-and-run-death-probe/87390800/
http://www.postcrescent.com/longform/news/investigations/2016/09/14/mother-wants-forgive-hersons-killer/87542208/>
When did the rumors start that it was a police cover up?
By 2much2know, RickyHcase
I thought Bushman was the lead investigator until he retired but according to Ferak's article that wasn't until 1995. Then I came across this and it got me wondering when the rumors started and why Hermann took over the case 2 1/2 weeks into the investigation.
Part One of MTSO's report, pg. 38
01/28/99@ 1300 Hrs.: There was a meeting on 2nd floor in Administration. Officers present were Deputy Jost, Deputy P. Herrmann, Deputy A. Colborn, Deputy Glaeser, Det. Sgt. Lenk, C.I. Kusche, Inspector Petersen, and me (Lt. M. Bushman). Officers were advised that Deputy Herrmann was now assigned to this case full-time and will be spear-heading the investigation follow-up duties. I was assigned to track down all Crime Stopper reports and file them together in one location. Det. Nicholson was assigned to provide computer programming to help with time line, suspects, and suspect vehicles. Deputy Glaeser, Deputy Jost, and Deputy Colborn were assigned to check suspect vehicles and follow-up on Crime Stopper reports. Det. Sgt. Lenk and C. I. Kusche will organize. Det. Conrad will help with investigation if needed. Deputy Herrmann will do follow-up investigation of suspects' associates, coordinate and update, and maintain a current list of suspect names and vehicles for follow-up.
So when Debi is talking to Colburn and Ledvina and she asks them about the list of all the vehicles that were checked out they tell her they don't know where it is. So read the last line of the report again, "Deputy Herrmann will do follow-up investigation of suspects' associates, coordinate and update, and maintain a current list of suspect names and vehicles for follow-up."
[–]PoorWanderingOne
Almost immediately, as I recall.
I'm only a couple years older than Ricky would be were he still alive today, and his story affected be strongly from the get-go. Being from the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area, I'm very, very familiar with how LE in the area 'handles' things, and how much HOW they handle things is related to what kind of person they feel you are, and what kind of family name it is that you have.
Note: User PoorWanderingOne is a former resident of Manitowoc County.
[–]alanamb37
I am a resident of Sheboygan WI. I can say with 100% confidence, that the entire media coverage of the trial only depicted the views of the prosecution. Unless one sat in that courtroom every day throughout the entirety of the trial, it is virtually impossible to have known what we saw in this accurate portrayal of the facts. I have waited 10 yrs to hear the truth. Unfortunately, because Sheboygan, ManitaWACK and the surrounding counties are filled with racist, judgemental hicks, Steven and Brendan never stood a chance.
Oh and that "hillbilly accent" the Avery's have is very common lingo in these parts: "Der hey don't cha know" Ya hay adda hay Sheboygan Bratwurst Days Der Hay." This is an actual jingle played every August ... No, you can't make this up. I have been reading Brian McCorkle's Blog ... The Convoluted Brian. There is an OUTRAGEOUS account of an alternative suspect. I think it deserves looking into.
Who killed 17-year old Richard 'Ricky' Hochstetler via hit-and-run in 1999 in Manitowoc? Small-town mystery with rumors of police corruption.
By PoorWanderingOne, UnresolvedMysteries
August 24, 2015
https://www.postcrescent.com/videos/news/investigations/2016/09/12/90256000/
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/12/manitowoc-sheriff-under-fire-1999-homicide/80862938/
[–]alanamb37
I RECIEVED THIS EMAIL. IF YOU WANT THE NUMBER CONTACT ME
I'm writing about the corruption in Manitowoc County, it is somewhat related to the Steven Avery/Brenden Dassey case on Netflix.
The day before Christmas(this year) I called the Manitowoc Sheriffs office to report that Kay Kocourek had told me that Tom Kocourek, the ex sheriff here in our county, Ran over and killed Ricky Hockstettler in 1999
I also told them that I was told that the vehicle was repaired at Pietroske s dealership and that I was told a man named Nick did the bodywork .
I made it clear that I didn't know if the allegations were true or not but that this needed to be investigated. They told me they would make an apt for me to come in for a taped/filmed statement. Within an hour detective Dan Weyker(920-683-5011) called me up and said that WE have already investigated everything and and that I wouldn't need to come to the station.
I've been targeted by this police organization ever since I got involved in Joe Dheins' case.
He was getting railroaded by the counties metro police division.
He came to the tavern I was bartending at while attending the university of wi. Manitowoc campus.
He told me some details and I asked if I could help. I set him up with an attorney Russel Stewart, the Ballesteros(sp?) bros lawyer in Milwaukee.
At the trial the person that metro used as a witness stated that he was drunk when the metro unit picked him up and that his statements were false and that the police cohersed(sp? again) and made him file a false witness statement.
The case was dismissed.
When Joe first approached me at the bar he stated that he was being targeted by metro because he knew that Mark Anderson, head of metro at the time, had sexually abused Donnie Hein's nephew (a friend of Joe).
Kay was afraid to file a statement herself because she was abused in the Kocourek homes basement growing up and forced to perform felatio on her brother Gary.
Kay has since passed, it would seem that these allegations or statements can't be verified but Kays sister Sal is still alive and these same incestual (sp again but I'm not looking up words in the dictionary at this point) practices were done to her.
Robert Schmidt(920 860 1167) Kay's husband at the time of her death informed me that Kay and Sal went to her parents but were told that this didn't happen in a Kocourek household.
He was also told the stories by Kay about her going to talk with brother Tom about the accident.
Jeff Thompson(920 860 1124) was also told.
I told Charlie Blish (920 973 6233) everything I knew over a lot of phone calls, I did this because he owned BD communications and did a lot of wiring for the count sheriffs dept.
I wanted them to know that I knew things and that if they quit targeting me, my family and my friends that I would just shut up.
I need to know where and how to make my statements. I also know and have talked to the german woman in this blog http://www.convolutedbrian.com/an-alternative.html and have talked to Dave from this you tube video https://www.youtube.com/embed/je35gOEL5wQ?autoplay=1
We need advice up here and we need to know who to report this info too. Please help my number is..
[–]DaCodfather
That's my email. Do you think you could take that down quicker than you could dig my foot out of your butt? People involved have friends and family up here. You're putting them in jeopardy. I'm in contact with the right people now. We're sitting here with our drapes pulled during the holiday season for the christs sakes. Everyone of my neighbors are looking for snipers in the cemetery across the street. wth is wrong with you?
[–]headstilldown
"I told Charlie........everything.....he owned BD communications."
Wow.... and Prior to BD communications, he worked for Intellicom, and the owner of Intellicom, who many people knew and respected, ALSO worked for the County of Manitowoc and was suddenly wisked away and accused of some sort of "Child Porn" something or another in another county. No one could hardly believe this happened, but to my knowledge, he has been locked away in Green Bay with no contact with his family.
Did Mr. Intellicom stumble across something while he was working at the County ???
Wow... just wow. SMALL WORLD !
[–]knowjustice
This is likely the "cover-up" Avery mentioned in his letter. He said "LS" [Lakeshore Drive/South 10th Street] which is about one mile east of County Road "CR," which was US-141 until I-43 was built. Both head south from Manitowoc towards Cleveland/Sheboygan.
Here's the handwritten page to the reporter (as written)...
Hi Colleen Henry
here put this on and I will talk to you, and do a investigation of the Sheriff of Manitowoc County!!! ask were is his Van!!!
Is this for real?
[–]ardoin
Survey says "absolutely fucking not".
Yeah, like a person with that information is just going to wait and hold on to it until the "perpetrator" appears in something major.
Yeah, that seems like something someone with real information would do. Hold on to it as long as possible without telling anyone, ever, and then says it seventeen years later at a time to make it seem worse for someone.
I need to know where and how to make my statements.
Please, go ahead. I'd love to see you get charged for slander. Because that's what's going to happen if you don't immediately get laughed at. Sorry, bud.
[–]headstilldown
Give the guy a break. Sounds like there might literally be no where to go with any "evidence" as no one will listen. I've got acquaintances there and I believe some of them are and have been scared into silence. All they get is the cops "already got it all taken care of"... move along.....
[–]ardoin
Yeah, sorry to put him down like that. But just making public allegations this way doesn't really benefit him any, or the case.
The cops will keep it cold. Honestly, hit and runs are so common, even an actually good police force can't solve it. It's the nature of the crime. Life isn't fair sometimes. Hell, I had a car fall victim to hit and run. I didn't even report it because I knew it couldn't be solved.
[–]primak
bunch of crap
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
At the time, the place that said event was supposed to have been held at was called Club Bil-Mar. That business closed some time ago and I believe has most recently been called the name you mentioned- City Limits.
As far as the documentation.. I sure don't know. It certainly wasn't reported in any of the local news outlets.
Op, do you know who owned the previous bar at the the time?
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
I believe it was a married couple named Stanley and Mary Bajdan. The owners of the current City Limits are Mary's daughter and son-in-law.
[–]cday119
I think it should be public record as to who was on the police payroll. Then you could do a search to see where these people lived, the article said they were heading south, that is a pretty sparsely populated area. Now if you could get DMV records for the registered owners that might also give some clues.
[–]cday119
If I was at that restaurant I'd probably go north a little bit to get on the southbound interstate to get to Sheboygan. So I would think anyone going south on that road is close to their destination, otherwise they would have been on the interstate. Of course this isn't the route everyone would take.
[–]astralsled
I don't know this area at all but did want to point out that if someone was driving drunk they may have chosen to take the more isolated route where they could drive slower and be around less other vehicles (and be less likely to be pulled over, if it wasn't a cop who did it.) So it doesn't necessarily mean they had to be local.
[–]alemaron
except that you don't have to go north to get onto the interstate. there is an interchange for i43 on county road C about 2-3 miles south of the incident. anyone who knows the area would use that interchange to go south from the bil-mar.
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
Exactly correct- if they're headed from the manitowoc area toward sheboygan or any other points south, most all people there do take interstate 43 rather than this county highway. They might if they were wanting to take the scenic route, but that probably wouldn't apply here, since it was late at night and dark.
[–]alanamb37
I have info on this
[–]WiscoBiz
And?
[–]DaCodfather
Just so you people know why he received my email- I talked to a man at wbay TV, a man with integrity. I told him this story and he said to report it to Brown Counties Sheriff dept. After my statement they said we'd like to help you BUT it's not our jurisdiction and they suggested I call the state police, which I did. The state police at Fond du Lac said the same thing and suggested I call the criminal investigation unit in Madison,608 266 1671. They unbelievably said no one was available for this and that I could fill out a form.
I stated this was unacceptable and that I needed to come in and get a taped statement and that I was going to the FBI and I hung up. I waited a couple of days, trying to figure out where to go with this, and finally sent it to the MinnFBI and the federal DOJ. When I received no reply from them I decided to go directly to the lions den. I called the Manitowoc Sheriffs Dept. and spoke to the switchboard or desk person and stated that I needed to know the process to come in to make a report on the 99' death of Ricky Hockstettler. I then told her that I didn't know if this was true or not but it needs to be investigated.
I had told her what Kay, the ex sheriffs sister, had told me. She patched me through to a lower ranking deputy sheriff officer that I told what Kay had said. He said that they would set up an appt. for this week for me to come in. Within an hour, Dan Weyker (920 683 5011)called me back and I told him what Kay said and that another person told me that the vehicle(Toms) was fixed at Pietroskies by a bodyman that he thought was named Nick. He, Weyker, then told me that WE investigated this all back in '99 and that it was a Copps dept store party at the Bilmar. He then asked who I all told this stuff to. I replied no one and that this was a small town, knowing full well my list would all be intimidated. It's happened in this county before.
I then reached out to Brian McCorkle who blew me off.
So I reached out to Trump, I built his tennis courts at Mar A Lago in Florida, The old Emily Post Mansion. My friends explained why he couldn't do anything and I regretted sending it to him, bummer cause I really like that guy.
At this point I was getting sick(stress really makes the disease I have worse) and didn't know where to turn I then reached out to Jerry Buting but couldn't find his email addy Don't ask, I was really sick.
I contacted Bogatka(DrNephilim666) a few times to let him know that a person I know had invited me to his bar giveaway by the police and that I had found a person that had witnessed the ritualistic chanting that he talked about in his youtube statement to the 4 FBI branches that he sent the videos to. The house(mini mansion for these parts) was located on top of Spring St. in Manitowoc and owned by a family named Hansen(Hi Biff). The house is located on Michigan Ave I think, I'm not about to leave this post box to check google maps.
Parcel Number: 052-183-005-521.00
Municipality: CITY OF MANITOWOC
Owner(s) Name: PAUL B HANSEN
Location Address: 1502 MICHIGAN AVE
Mailing Address: 1502 MICHIGAN AVE
City, State, Zip: MANITOWOC WI 54220-3110
I have alot more info but that is going straight to Buting and Anonymous soon, probally as soon as I'm done typing here.
If you guys want to have a good read go to the 'Justice for Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey' group on Facebook, it's a closed group and you will need to be accepted.
As Terrel said "Get you popcorn ready" cause I'm not staying intimidated anymore....
I promised Kay one day I would find a way to get her story out, and I made a promise to Rickys mother too.
Enough is enough. Now lets get the post with names down, please. I've got this handled.
My email to the poster above was only made to leave enough foot prints that maybe they wouldn't off me
[–]headstilldown
A guy I know that still lives in the area went to the AG's office in Madison some years ago to expose the wrong doing of Manty cops and as I recall ended up fearing for his life. His story of what happened there was insane.
[–]DaCodfather
As you folks can tell I tried many avenues to get 1, just 1 law enforcement agency to take my statement so something like this wouldn't get posted on the internet in plain sight.
I'm sorry that my friends names and numbers got posted.
Kay, Rickys mom, the Averys and many more families in Manitowoc County have cried themselves to sleep many nights,
If they come to kill me today I just don't give a shit.
BUT, you crooked cops should be forewarned that my house is set up with a camera so that the world can see.
I didn't believe what the German woman told me at Glenns bar but the fact that a cop was sitting at the end of the bar (by the pay phone) keeping an eye on her and her violent husband made me keep coming back to check on her.
The cops haircut and black leather jacket just didn't fit in, so I took note.
After three or four visits she just disappeared.
I was on the run since 1980, after getting Dhien the lawyer that law enforcement round these parts refer to as the mob.
No drivers license and no pay stubs. Whenever my personal info hit the data banks(such as a paystub or my california license) I'd be on the road again.
I'm sure the Manitowoc sheriffs Dept is starting a smear campaign against me now as I type, but folks If I needed to be put in jail they would have me there now, silenced.
So whatever they come up with I just don't care. I'm somewhat proud of my ccap record, the police should give me a medal. The last 5 guys I beat the hell out of are all dead. Not by me, they were the type of dealers that sold drugs to people that hurt people. The cops were either not smart enough to catch them or the criminals were just so dumb that it was easier for the cops to keep track of all their(the people I fought with) druggie friends. I don't know.
The arguments I got into with my ex was caused by the law also. When I was away in the navy one of the business owners up here thought it was acceptable to pursue my then wife.
The DrNephilim666 videos on youtube will tell you all you need to know about the club. If anything up here resembled a mafia it was this "club". Watch all 3 parts, I'm not leaving this box to post a clickable link.
Go ahead and look at my ccap. Steven Walter (Willard) (My confirmation name, which is my Dad who was set up by these turds also) Grimm.
Enough is enough. I'm ready to play dueling polygraphs with the whole lot of em.
When I was about 13 my mother told me there's a certain group of people that think they run this town.
She said the undesirables get felonies and get disarmmed.
She told me life isn't about what you're looking at, it's what you see and that it's not about what you're listening to but what you hear.
She used to come home in a jailers sheriff outfit and play cribbage all night with judge Jones while bartending.
She'd come home with some wild conspiricy(sp but what ever I have a headache) theories and I'd listen to them all.
You pukes up here have to stop setting people up. I could list alot of people that did nothing wrong but the Manitowoc create a criminal code just keeps rolling along.
Forgive my grammatical and spelling errors folks, most of the time I'm typing in the dark and I'm frazzled waiting for them to knock the door down.
More to come from what should be known in the future as Avery county, if I'm still here and I have the internet yet. Have a good day....
[–]primak
You're full of it, I was never in any Glenn's Bar and I'm not even German...loser. Hope you're back on your meds!
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
Just wanted to mention that I have been seeing this thread being posted in various Manitowoc discussion forums on fb.. I think that's a good thing; we shall see what kind of additional attention it receives.
[–]DaCodfather
More interesting reading about our fine community-
http://manitowocmegaphone.blogspot.com/2014/01/welcome-to-dystop-acratic-party-part-i.html
[–]jesusbuiltmyboxmod
Charges filed 3 days ago against this dude [Steven Walter Grimm] for assault and criminal damages if he is who he says he is...
[–]ThatReddit
To be fair to the suspect, that school does look like a castle.
Article and video at the link below has been removed:
http://wbay.com/2016/01/14/manitowoc-school-intruder-taken-into-custody/
Police: Manitowoc school intruder high on drugs, thought he was a knight
By Rhonda Roberts and Sari Soffer
Published: January 14, 2016, 8:59 am
Manitowoc Lincoln High School went into lockdown Thursday morning after a man on drugs was found inside, thinking he was in a castle, police say.
Steven Grimm, 58, was arrested for trespassing, damaging property for breaking the window of an empty classroom, battery for fighting with school staff, and burglary.
Police say Grimm admitted using marijuana, narcotics and alcohol the night before. He told police he thought he was a knight.
“Throughout the night he was having some illusions of being a knight in a castle, and with the way that Lincoln High School is shaped, with that tower up there, his goal was getting up into that tower,” Police Capt. Larry Zimney said.
Police say Grimm was on the third floor heading for the school tower when a student noticed him, knew he didn’t belong in the school, and alerted staff. That was about 6:45 a.m.
The Manitowoc Public School District says custodians tried to contain Grimm, who lunged at them and punched them.
“He made a comment that he had to leave now, and then immediately lunged at them, striking them with his fist,” Zimney said.
Officers were able to quickly arrest Grimm, who didn’t have any weapons. He’s being held in the Manitowoc County Jail.
Officers then started a sweep of the rest of the school to make sure no one else was inside.
Students arriving for classes were told to go to the cafeteria or auditorium — areas police cleared as “safe zones” — while officers searched the building.
“I just came into the doors and there were a bunch of cop cars, like it wasn’t normal at first. And then they just told us to go to the auditorium or cafeteria and they explained really what happened, someone broke in,” said student Jordan Meisner.
“They say whatever happened, the police took care of it, class just resumed,” senior Mollie Hang said.
The lockdown was lifted shortly after 8 a.m. and students went to class.
Police plan to review school security videos to figure out how he got inside the school but say it’s likely he walked in after school doors opened around 6 a.m.
“We have students who do fitness classes and clubs beginning as early as 6:30 in the morning supervised by staff, so we will confine to review the process, but we do have to have some doors open for our students to be able to come in,” Superintendent Mark Holzman said.
The superintendent says they’ll review security policies after police finish their investigation, but 1,300 students attend Lincoln High School so it’ll be difficult to limit entrances during the morning hours.
Update: Steven Grimm’s bail was set at $1,000 cash Friday. As of 3:30 Friday afternoon, he was still in the Manitowoc County Jail.
Manitowoc Lincoln High intruder due in court
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
January 23, 2016
A Manitowoc man who caused a lockdown Jan. 14 at Lincoln High School during which he thought he was a knight in a castle is due in Manitowoc County Circuit Court.
Steven W. Grimm, 58, will make his initial appearance before Judge Mark Rohrer at 2:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 25.
He stands charged with felony substantial battery/intend bodily harm, and three misdemeanor charges — battery and two counts of criminal damage to property.
He faces a maximum penalty of one-and-a-half years in prison for the felony, and nine months for each of the misdemeanors.
According to the Manitowoc Police Department:
Officers were called to the school at about 6:45 a.m. after a student allegedly saw Grimm on the third floor and alerted staff members.
When custodial staff approached Grimm, who likely entered the school through an unlocked door a short time earlier, he became combative, said Capt. Larry Zimney of the Manitowoc Police Department. Grimm reportedly punched two custodians, one of whom was hit in the face and received minor injuries.
Staff members were able to detain Grimm until officers arrived and arrested him.
"This guy is all strung out on drugs and drinking and stuff like that," Assistant Chief Scott Luchterhand said. "Sounds like he was (at local bars) earlier in the night and supposedly was following some bunny tracks up to Lincoln High School ... and entered the high school."
Grimm cooperated with police when questioned, Zimney said. He admitted to using marijuana, narcotics and alcohol during the evening before entering the school.
At some point, Grimm also tried to get into the tower of the school and broke a window on an interior door in his attempts to do so, police said. He told officers he thought he was a knight in a castle and wanted to get to the highest part of the school.
"I can't make this stuff up," Zimney said.
The school went into lockdown while officers searched the school to ensure no other unauthorized people were inside.
Students and staff waited in the auditorium and cafeteria until about 8 a.m., according to a statement from the Manitowoc Public School District. After the school was deemed safe, classes resumed as usual.
Grimm didn’t have any weapons when he was arrested. He was released on $1,000 bail with the conditions that he have no contact with any schools or their premises, no contact with Manitowoc Public Utilities or their premises, and no contact with the victims or any premises they may occupy, and he must maintain absolute sobriety.
[-]magiclougie
Steven W. Grimm, age 59, a Manitowoc resident, entered eternal life on Friday, July 1, 2016 at his residence. His death was almost a year after the comments about Tom Kocourek and Biff Hansen on reddit (user DaCodfather).
Judge rules free speech rights violatedhttp://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/13/missteps-hamper-1999-hit-and-run-death-probe/87390800/
http://www.postcrescent.com/longform/news/investigations/2016/09/14/mother-wants-forgive-hersons-killer/87542208/>
When did the rumors start that it was a police cover up?
By 2much2know, RickyHcase
I thought Bushman was the lead investigator until he retired but according to Ferak's article that wasn't until 1995. Then I came across this and it got me wondering when the rumors started and why Hermann took over the case 2 1/2 weeks into the investigation.
Part One of MTSO's report, pg. 38
01/28/99@ 1300 Hrs.: There was a meeting on 2nd floor in Administration. Officers present were Deputy Jost, Deputy P. Herrmann, Deputy A. Colborn, Deputy Glaeser, Det. Sgt. Lenk, C.I. Kusche, Inspector Petersen, and me (Lt. M. Bushman). Officers were advised that Deputy Herrmann was now assigned to this case full-time and will be spear-heading the investigation follow-up duties. I was assigned to track down all Crime Stopper reports and file them together in one location. Det. Nicholson was assigned to provide computer programming to help with time line, suspects, and suspect vehicles. Deputy Glaeser, Deputy Jost, and Deputy Colborn were assigned to check suspect vehicles and follow-up on Crime Stopper reports. Det. Sgt. Lenk and C. I. Kusche will organize. Det. Conrad will help with investigation if needed. Deputy Herrmann will do follow-up investigation of suspects' associates, coordinate and update, and maintain a current list of suspect names and vehicles for follow-up.
So when Debi is talking to Colburn and Ledvina and she asks them about the list of all the vehicles that were checked out they tell her they don't know where it is. So read the last line of the report again, "Deputy Herrmann will do follow-up investigation of suspects' associates, coordinate and update, and maintain a current list of suspect names and vehicles for follow-up."
[–]PoorWanderingOne
Almost immediately, as I recall.
I'm only a couple years older than Ricky would be were he still alive today, and his story affected be strongly from the get-go. Being from the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area, I'm very, very familiar with how LE in the area 'handles' things, and how much HOW they handle things is related to what kind of person they feel you are, and what kind of family name it is that you have.
Note: User PoorWanderingOne is a former resident of Manitowoc County.
[–]alanamb37
I am a resident of Sheboygan WI. I can say with 100% confidence, that the entire media coverage of the trial only depicted the views of the prosecution. Unless one sat in that courtroom every day throughout the entirety of the trial, it is virtually impossible to have known what we saw in this accurate portrayal of the facts. I have waited 10 yrs to hear the truth. Unfortunately, because Sheboygan, ManitaWACK and the surrounding counties are filled with racist, judgemental hicks, Steven and Brendan never stood a chance.
Oh and that "hillbilly accent" the Avery's have is very common lingo in these parts: "Der hey don't cha know" Ya hay adda hay Sheboygan Bratwurst Days Der Hay." This is an actual jingle played every August ... No, you can't make this up. I have been reading Brian McCorkle's Blog ... The Convoluted Brian. There is an OUTRAGEOUS account of an alternative suspect. I think it deserves looking into.
Who killed 17-year old Richard 'Ricky' Hochstetler via hit-and-run in 1999 in Manitowoc? Small-town mystery with rumors of police corruption.
By PoorWanderingOne, UnresolvedMysteries
August 24, 2015
https://www.postcrescent.com/videos/news/investigations/2016/09/12/90256000/
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/12/manitowoc-sheriff-under-fire-1999-homicide/80862938/
[–]alanamb37
I RECIEVED THIS EMAIL. IF YOU WANT THE NUMBER CONTACT ME
The day before Christmas(this year) I called the Manitowoc Sheriffs office to report that Kay Kocourek had told me that Tom Kocourek, the ex sheriff here in our county, Ran over and killed Ricky Hockstettler in 1999
I also told them that I was told that the vehicle was repaired at Pietroske s dealership and that I was told a man named Nick did the bodywork .
I made it clear that I didn't know if the allegations were true or not but that this needed to be investigated. They told me they would make an apt for me to come in for a taped/filmed statement. Within an hour detective Dan Weyker(920-683-5011) called me up and said that WE have already investigated everything and and that I wouldn't need to come to the station.
I've been targeted by this police organization ever since I got involved in Joe Dheins' case.
He was getting railroaded by the counties metro police division.
He came to the tavern I was bartending at while attending the university of wi. Manitowoc campus.
He told me some details and I asked if I could help. I set him up with an attorney Russel Stewart, the Ballesteros(sp?) bros lawyer in Milwaukee.
At the trial the person that metro used as a witness stated that he was drunk when the metro unit picked him up and that his statements were false and that the police cohersed(sp? again) and made him file a false witness statement.
The case was dismissed.
When Joe first approached me at the bar he stated that he was being targeted by metro because he knew that Mark Anderson, head of metro at the time, had sexually abused Donnie Hein's nephew (a friend of Joe).
Kay was afraid to file a statement herself because she was abused in the Kocourek homes basement growing up and forced to perform felatio on her brother Gary.
Kay has since passed, it would seem that these allegations or statements can't be verified but Kays sister Sal is still alive and these same incestual (sp again but I'm not looking up words in the dictionary at this point) practices were done to her.
Robert Schmidt(920 860 1167) Kay's husband at the time of her death informed me that Kay and Sal went to her parents but were told that this didn't happen in a Kocourek household.
He was also told the stories by Kay about her going to talk with brother Tom about the accident.
Jeff Thompson(920 860 1124) was also told.
I told Charlie Blish (920 973 6233) everything I knew over a lot of phone calls, I did this because he owned BD communications and did a lot of wiring for the count sheriffs dept.
I wanted them to know that I knew things and that if they quit targeting me, my family and my friends that I would just shut up.
I need to know where and how to make my statements. I also know and have talked to the german woman in this blog http://www.convolutedbrian.com/an-alternative.html and have talked to Dave from this you tube video https://www.youtube.com/embed/je35gOEL5wQ?autoplay=1
We need advice up here and we need to know who to report this info too. Please help my number is..
[–]DaCodfather
That's my email. Do you think you could take that down quicker than you could dig my foot out of your butt? People involved have friends and family up here. You're putting them in jeopardy. I'm in contact with the right people now. We're sitting here with our drapes pulled during the holiday season for the christs sakes. Everyone of my neighbors are looking for snipers in the cemetery across the street. wth is wrong with you?
[–]headstilldown
"I told Charlie........everything.....he owned BD communications."
Wow.... and Prior to BD communications, he worked for Intellicom, and the owner of Intellicom, who many people knew and respected, ALSO worked for the County of Manitowoc and was suddenly wisked away and accused of some sort of "Child Porn" something or another in another county. No one could hardly believe this happened, but to my knowledge, he has been locked away in Green Bay with no contact with his family.
Did Mr. Intellicom stumble across something while he was working at the County ???
Wow... just wow. SMALL WORLD !
[–]knowjustice
This is likely the "cover-up" Avery mentioned in his letter. He said "LS" [Lakeshore Drive/South 10th Street] which is about one mile east of County Road "CR," which was US-141 until I-43 was built. Both head south from Manitowoc towards Cleveland/Sheboygan.
Here's the handwritten page to the reporter (as written)...
Hi Colleen Henry
here put this on and I will talk to you, and do a investigation of the Sheriff of Manitowoc County!!! ask were is his Van!!!
[–][deleted]
Is this for real?
[–]ardoin
Survey says "absolutely fucking not".
Yeah, like a person with that information is just going to wait and hold on to it until the "perpetrator" appears in something major.
Yeah, that seems like something someone with real information would do. Hold on to it as long as possible without telling anyone, ever, and then says it seventeen years later at a time to make it seem worse for someone.
I need to know where and how to make my statements.
Please, go ahead. I'd love to see you get charged for slander. Because that's what's going to happen if you don't immediately get laughed at. Sorry, bud.
[–]headstilldown
Give the guy a break. Sounds like there might literally be no where to go with any "evidence" as no one will listen. I've got acquaintances there and I believe some of them are and have been scared into silence. All they get is the cops "already got it all taken care of"... move along.....
[–]ardoin
Yeah, sorry to put him down like that. But just making public allegations this way doesn't really benefit him any, or the case.
The cops will keep it cold. Honestly, hit and runs are so common, even an actually good police force can't solve it. It's the nature of the crime. Life isn't fair sometimes. Hell, I had a car fall victim to hit and run. I didn't even report it because I knew it couldn't be solved.
[–]primak
bunch of crap
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
At the time, the place that said event was supposed to have been held at was called Club Bil-Mar. That business closed some time ago and I believe has most recently been called the name you mentioned- City Limits.
As far as the documentation.. I sure don't know. It certainly wasn't reported in any of the local news outlets.
[–]SuperSpecialUserNo Report Dennis Jacobs. Mr Do we have a body yet? and the supposed collector of GZ VM from Teresa that is missing lives Right between The Sheriff Being sued back then Kocourek, and the Current Sheriff Hermann? Interesting!! pic.twitter.com/8d2TnjSjH5— JynxTheAwesome (@MysticJynx) July 27, 2018
Op, do you know who owned the previous bar at the the time?
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
I believe it was a married couple named Stanley and Mary Bajdan. The owners of the current City Limits are Mary's daughter and son-in-law.
[–]cday119
I think it should be public record as to who was on the police payroll. Then you could do a search to see where these people lived, the article said they were heading south, that is a pretty sparsely populated area. Now if you could get DMV records for the registered owners that might also give some clues.
[–]cday119
If I was at that restaurant I'd probably go north a little bit to get on the southbound interstate to get to Sheboygan. So I would think anyone going south on that road is close to their destination, otherwise they would have been on the interstate. Of course this isn't the route everyone would take.
[–]astralsled
I don't know this area at all but did want to point out that if someone was driving drunk they may have chosen to take the more isolated route where they could drive slower and be around less other vehicles (and be less likely to be pulled over, if it wasn't a cop who did it.) So it doesn't necessarily mean they had to be local.
[–]alemaron
except that you don't have to go north to get onto the interstate. there is an interchange for i43 on county road C about 2-3 miles south of the incident. anyone who knows the area would use that interchange to go south from the bil-mar.
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
Exactly correct- if they're headed from the manitowoc area toward sheboygan or any other points south, most all people there do take interstate 43 rather than this county highway. They might if they were wanting to take the scenic route, but that probably wouldn't apply here, since it was late at night and dark.
[–]alanamb37
I have info on this
[–]WiscoBiz
And?
[–]DaCodfather
Just so you people know why he received my email- I talked to a man at wbay TV, a man with integrity. I told him this story and he said to report it to Brown Counties Sheriff dept. After my statement they said we'd like to help you BUT it's not our jurisdiction and they suggested I call the state police, which I did. The state police at Fond du Lac said the same thing and suggested I call the criminal investigation unit in Madison,608 266 1671. They unbelievably said no one was available for this and that I could fill out a form.
I stated this was unacceptable and that I needed to come in and get a taped statement and that I was going to the FBI and I hung up. I waited a couple of days, trying to figure out where to go with this, and finally sent it to the MinnFBI and the federal DOJ. When I received no reply from them I decided to go directly to the lions den. I called the Manitowoc Sheriffs Dept. and spoke to the switchboard or desk person and stated that I needed to know the process to come in to make a report on the 99' death of Ricky Hockstettler. I then told her that I didn't know if this was true or not but it needs to be investigated.
I had told her what Kay, the ex sheriffs sister, had told me. She patched me through to a lower ranking deputy sheriff officer that I told what Kay had said. He said that they would set up an appt. for this week for me to come in. Within an hour, Dan Weyker (920 683 5011)called me back and I told him what Kay said and that another person told me that the vehicle(Toms) was fixed at Pietroskies by a bodyman that he thought was named Nick. He, Weyker, then told me that WE investigated this all back in '99 and that it was a Copps dept store party at the Bilmar. He then asked who I all told this stuff to. I replied no one and that this was a small town, knowing full well my list would all be intimidated. It's happened in this county before.
I then reached out to Brian McCorkle who blew me off.
So I reached out to Trump, I built his tennis courts at Mar A Lago in Florida, The old Emily Post Mansion. My friends explained why he couldn't do anything and I regretted sending it to him, bummer cause I really like that guy.
At this point I was getting sick(stress really makes the disease I have worse) and didn't know where to turn I then reached out to Jerry Buting but couldn't find his email addy Don't ask, I was really sick.
I contacted Bogatka(DrNephilim666) a few times to let him know that a person I know had invited me to his bar giveaway by the police and that I had found a person that had witnessed the ritualistic chanting that he talked about in his youtube statement to the 4 FBI branches that he sent the videos to. The house(mini mansion for these parts) was located on top of Spring St. in Manitowoc and owned by a family named Hansen(Hi Biff). The house is located on Michigan Ave I think, I'm not about to leave this post box to check google maps.
Parcel Number: 052-183-005-521.00
Municipality: CITY OF MANITOWOC
Owner(s) Name: PAUL B HANSEN
Location Address: 1502 MICHIGAN AVE
Mailing Address: 1502 MICHIGAN AVE
City, State, Zip: MANITOWOC WI 54220-3110
I have alot more info but that is going straight to Buting and Anonymous soon, probally as soon as I'm done typing here.
If you guys want to have a good read go to the 'Justice for Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey' group on Facebook, it's a closed group and you will need to be accepted.
As Terrel said "Get you popcorn ready" cause I'm not staying intimidated anymore....
I promised Kay one day I would find a way to get her story out, and I made a promise to Rickys mother too.
Enough is enough. Now lets get the post with names down, please. I've got this handled.
My email to the poster above was only made to leave enough foot prints that maybe they wouldn't off me
[–]headstilldown
A guy I know that still lives in the area went to the AG's office in Madison some years ago to expose the wrong doing of Manty cops and as I recall ended up fearing for his life. His story of what happened there was insane.
[–]DaCodfather
As you folks can tell I tried many avenues to get 1, just 1 law enforcement agency to take my statement so something like this wouldn't get posted on the internet in plain sight.
I'm sorry that my friends names and numbers got posted.
Kay, Rickys mom, the Averys and many more families in Manitowoc County have cried themselves to sleep many nights,
If they come to kill me today I just don't give a shit.
BUT, you crooked cops should be forewarned that my house is set up with a camera so that the world can see.
I didn't believe what the German woman told me at Glenns bar but the fact that a cop was sitting at the end of the bar (by the pay phone) keeping an eye on her and her violent husband made me keep coming back to check on her.
The cops haircut and black leather jacket just didn't fit in, so I took note.
After three or four visits she just disappeared.
I was on the run since 1980, after getting Dhien the lawyer that law enforcement round these parts refer to as the mob.
No drivers license and no pay stubs. Whenever my personal info hit the data banks(such as a paystub or my california license) I'd be on the road again.
I'm sure the Manitowoc sheriffs Dept is starting a smear campaign against me now as I type, but folks If I needed to be put in jail they would have me there now, silenced.
So whatever they come up with I just don't care. I'm somewhat proud of my ccap record, the police should give me a medal. The last 5 guys I beat the hell out of are all dead. Not by me, they were the type of dealers that sold drugs to people that hurt people. The cops were either not smart enough to catch them or the criminals were just so dumb that it was easier for the cops to keep track of all their(the people I fought with) druggie friends. I don't know.
The arguments I got into with my ex was caused by the law also. When I was away in the navy one of the business owners up here thought it was acceptable to pursue my then wife.
The DrNephilim666 videos on youtube will tell you all you need to know about the club. If anything up here resembled a mafia it was this "club". Watch all 3 parts, I'm not leaving this box to post a clickable link.
Go ahead and look at my ccap. Steven Walter (Willard) (My confirmation name, which is my Dad who was set up by these turds also) Grimm.
Enough is enough. I'm ready to play dueling polygraphs with the whole lot of em.
When I was about 13 my mother told me there's a certain group of people that think they run this town.
She said the undesirables get felonies and get disarmmed.
She told me life isn't about what you're looking at, it's what you see and that it's not about what you're listening to but what you hear.
She used to come home in a jailers sheriff outfit and play cribbage all night with judge Jones while bartending.
She'd come home with some wild conspiricy(sp but what ever I have a headache) theories and I'd listen to them all.
You pukes up here have to stop setting people up. I could list alot of people that did nothing wrong but the Manitowoc create a criminal code just keeps rolling along.
Forgive my grammatical and spelling errors folks, most of the time I'm typing in the dark and I'm frazzled waiting for them to knock the door down.
More to come from what should be known in the future as Avery county, if I'm still here and I have the internet yet. Have a good day....
[–]primak
You're full of it, I was never in any Glenn's Bar and I'm not even German...loser. Hope you're back on your meds!
[–]PoorWanderingOne[S]
Just wanted to mention that I have been seeing this thread being posted in various Manitowoc discussion forums on fb.. I think that's a good thing; we shall see what kind of additional attention it receives.
[–]DaCodfather
More interesting reading about our fine community-
http://manitowocmegaphone.blogspot.com/2014/01/welcome-to-dystop-acratic-party-part-i.html
[–]jesusbuiltmyboxmod
Charges filed 3 days ago against this dude [Steven Walter Grimm] for assault and criminal damages if he is who he says he is...
[–]ThatReddit
To be fair to the suspect, that school does look like a castle.
Article and video at the link below has been removed:
http://wbay.com/2016/01/14/manitowoc-school-intruder-taken-into-custody/
Police: Manitowoc school intruder high on drugs, thought he was a knight
By Rhonda Roberts and Sari Soffer
Published: January 14, 2016, 8:59 am
Manitowoc Lincoln High School went into lockdown Thursday morning after a man on drugs was found inside, thinking he was in a castle, police say.
Steven Grimm, 58, was arrested for trespassing, damaging property for breaking the window of an empty classroom, battery for fighting with school staff, and burglary.
Police say Grimm admitted using marijuana, narcotics and alcohol the night before. He told police he thought he was a knight.
“Throughout the night he was having some illusions of being a knight in a castle, and with the way that Lincoln High School is shaped, with that tower up there, his goal was getting up into that tower,” Police Capt. Larry Zimney said.
Police say Grimm was on the third floor heading for the school tower when a student noticed him, knew he didn’t belong in the school, and alerted staff. That was about 6:45 a.m.
The Manitowoc Public School District says custodians tried to contain Grimm, who lunged at them and punched them.
“He made a comment that he had to leave now, and then immediately lunged at them, striking them with his fist,” Zimney said.
Officers were able to quickly arrest Grimm, who didn’t have any weapons. He’s being held in the Manitowoc County Jail.
Officers then started a sweep of the rest of the school to make sure no one else was inside.
Students arriving for classes were told to go to the cafeteria or auditorium — areas police cleared as “safe zones” — while officers searched the building.
“I just came into the doors and there were a bunch of cop cars, like it wasn’t normal at first. And then they just told us to go to the auditorium or cafeteria and they explained really what happened, someone broke in,” said student Jordan Meisner.
“They say whatever happened, the police took care of it, class just resumed,” senior Mollie Hang said.
The lockdown was lifted shortly after 8 a.m. and students went to class.
Police plan to review school security videos to figure out how he got inside the school but say it’s likely he walked in after school doors opened around 6 a.m.
“We have students who do fitness classes and clubs beginning as early as 6:30 in the morning supervised by staff, so we will confine to review the process, but we do have to have some doors open for our students to be able to come in,” Superintendent Mark Holzman said.
The superintendent says they’ll review security policies after police finish their investigation, but 1,300 students attend Lincoln High School so it’ll be difficult to limit entrances during the morning hours.
Update: Steven Grimm’s bail was set at $1,000 cash Friday. As of 3:30 Friday afternoon, he was still in the Manitowoc County Jail.
Manitowoc Lincoln High intruder due in court
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
January 23, 2016
A Manitowoc man who caused a lockdown Jan. 14 at Lincoln High School during which he thought he was a knight in a castle is due in Manitowoc County Circuit Court.
Steven W. Grimm, 58, will make his initial appearance before Judge Mark Rohrer at 2:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 25.
He stands charged with felony substantial battery/intend bodily harm, and three misdemeanor charges — battery and two counts of criminal damage to property.
He faces a maximum penalty of one-and-a-half years in prison for the felony, and nine months for each of the misdemeanors.
According to the Manitowoc Police Department:
Officers were called to the school at about 6:45 a.m. after a student allegedly saw Grimm on the third floor and alerted staff members.
When custodial staff approached Grimm, who likely entered the school through an unlocked door a short time earlier, he became combative, said Capt. Larry Zimney of the Manitowoc Police Department. Grimm reportedly punched two custodians, one of whom was hit in the face and received minor injuries.
Staff members were able to detain Grimm until officers arrived and arrested him.
"This guy is all strung out on drugs and drinking and stuff like that," Assistant Chief Scott Luchterhand said. "Sounds like he was (at local bars) earlier in the night and supposedly was following some bunny tracks up to Lincoln High School ... and entered the high school."
Grimm cooperated with police when questioned, Zimney said. He admitted to using marijuana, narcotics and alcohol during the evening before entering the school.
At some point, Grimm also tried to get into the tower of the school and broke a window on an interior door in his attempts to do so, police said. He told officers he thought he was a knight in a castle and wanted to get to the highest part of the school.
"I can't make this stuff up," Zimney said.
The school went into lockdown while officers searched the school to ensure no other unauthorized people were inside.
Students and staff waited in the auditorium and cafeteria until about 8 a.m., according to a statement from the Manitowoc Public School District. After the school was deemed safe, classes resumed as usual.
Grimm didn’t have any weapons when he was arrested. He was released on $1,000 bail with the conditions that he have no contact with any schools or their premises, no contact with Manitowoc Public Utilities or their premises, and no contact with the victims or any premises they may occupy, and he must maintain absolute sobriety.
[-]magiclougie
Steven W. Grimm, age 59, a Manitowoc resident, entered eternal life on Friday, July 1, 2016 at his residence. His death was almost a year after the comments about Tom Kocourek and Biff Hansen on reddit (user DaCodfather).
HTR Media
August 22, 2014
MANITOWOC – A federal judge ruled Tuesday former Manitowoc County board chairman Paul "Biff" Hansen went too far in stifling Jim Theyerl's constitutional right to express concerns about actions of county government and its employees.
Manitowoc County was a co-defendant in the suit filed last year by Theyerl alleging he was not "permitted to speak during the public input portion of any Manitowoc County Board meeting, on any subject" until certain conditions had been met.
William Griesbach of U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin's Green Bay Division affirmed Theyerl's First Amendment rights had been violated in awarding summary judgment to Theyerl.
County Corporation Counsel Steve Rollins said the next step will be a conference of the parties involved to determine if the case can be settled without need for a trial to determine possible awarding of monetary damages for the "emotional distress" Theyerl claims he suffered.
"The judge has determined the restriction (on Theyerl's ability to speak during public input at county board meetings) was overly broad," Rollins said. "The question now is what's the remedy."
"I am very pleased with the decision ...what Manitowoc County put me through as a taxpayer the last two years was unbearable," Theyerl, of Whitelaw, said Thursday in the wake of Griesbach's decision.
"I am looking for a settlement ...it will be a huge amount," Theyerl said, declining to be more specific.
Rollins said the county's insurance coverage covers outside attorneys' fees defense of the suit but not any damages that might be awarded to the retired truck driver. He said any financial settlement would need county board approval as a budgetary item.
Theyerl, 65, had appeared at several county board or committee meetings where during public input he sought to share information he claimed proved a county employee had viewed pornography on a work computer.
At a June 2012 county board meeting, Theyerl said he had 13 witnesses to the alleged viewing of pornographic images. However, none appeared at a subsequent ethics hearing several months later involving the particular employee.
In a July 2012 letter, Hansen told Theyerl he takes the allegations seriously and asked him to provide the name of the employee, specific description of the alleged misconduct and other details.
Theyerl's attempts to speak during public input were rebuffed by Hansen when such documentation was not provided. Hansen stated public input was not the time for unsubstantiated accusations.
"The most important thing for the public to understand is this decision in no way endorses the untrue statements about the county worker," Hansen said Thursday, expressing disappointment in Griesbach's ruling.
"It appears to be OK to make comments about other people without having any evidence and as untrue and egregious as those statements are ... they are protected by the First Amendment," Hansen said of his reaction to the judge's ruling.
He said supervisors have discussed limiting public input to only issues on the agenda. "But even with that, you could say you're going to speak on the budget and then get up" and make false statements impugning one's character.
With no delay on the cable TV broadcast of board meetings, Hansen said once the statements are made, they can't be taken back with the ensuing damage.
Ban went beyond
Griesbach said the case involves the balance of competing interests. He said the county board has an interest in maintaining order and decorum so it may efficiently handle the public's business. "It also does not want to provide an open forum for defamatory or personal accusations," the judge stated in a press release.
However, he said the effort to accomplish "these laudable goals can conflict with the individual citizen's right to free speech ... the First Amendment ... prohibits a government from discriminating against a particular speaker or viewpoint."
Griesbach said the ban prohibited Theyerl "from speaking at all, on any subject."
"There is no evidence that Hansen had the ability to read Theyerl's mind that he could regulate Theyerl's speech in advance," Griesbach stated.
He noted the plaintiff had previously expressed his views on what he considered were excessive employee salaries and other topics.
"In addition, even if Theyerl would have spoken 'about' his pornography allegations, there is no reason to believe that his speech would have been repetitive or defamatory," Griesbach stated.
If Theyerl had begun to repeat unsubstantiated allegations against the employee, "With deputies standing by, it would not have been difficult to enforce a very quick hook, and in fact that is what Hansen did on occasion," Griesbach stated.
Longtime Manitowoc educators to retire
By Ann Grote-Pirrung, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
May 25, 2016
When the last bell rings marking the end of the 2015-16 school year, Manitowoc Public School District will lose more than 60 years of experience as two long-term educators retire.
Paul "Biff" Hansen will retire after 38 years with the district, most recently as assistant principal at Lincoln High School, while Steven Kleinfeldt leaves after 26 years as a local elementary school principal, first at Jefferson Elementary and currently at Jackson Elementary.
The two retirees took some time recently to reflect on their rich history with the MPSD.
While Hansen has been teaching in Manitowoc County since 1978, his relationship with area schools began much earlier — 55 years, to be precise.
“I went to grade school at McKinley when I was 5 and graduated from Lincoln High School,” Hansen recalled.
He also worked as a coach at UW-Manitowoc and graduated from Silver Lake College with a degree in special education.
Hansen’s early career included stints at the Manitowoc County-run Special Ed School for the County, Two Rivers High School, Wilson Junior High and Lincoln High School, always working with children in special education.
“Always kids in need,” Hansen noted. “Always kids in need.”
Hansen has been at Lincoln High since 2001, teaching students with learning disabilities, before moving into administration in 2006.
“I was very much an advocate for getting the special ed kids in regular classes in schools,” he said. “That caused some bumps along the road for me as a special educator in the district and wanting us to go further than we were. I just got to a point where I needed something else and I thought that maybe by being an administrator I could help even more than being a classroom teacher.”
Studies show — and Hansen believes — special ed kids benefit from being with traditional ed kids and it helps the traditional ed kids, too.
At Lincoln, special ed students attend homecoming, prom and many other school events.
“A month ago at prom, there was a young lady who is confined to a motorized chair and she was on the floor dancing with other kids who don’t have disabilities. It was really cool that our kids did that,” he said. “I think it’s from growing up with differences from an early age.”
Hansen said the inclusion factor was one of the best — and probably biggest — change he’s seen through the years.
“The senior classes, for many years now, have been with kids with disabilities, and my hope is that it’s human nature to treat those kids with respect, and I think they do,” he said.
“Whenever I get teachers from the outside, they always talk about how good the kids with disabilities are treated in our buildings,” Hansen added. “Maybe that’s the thing that I’m most proud of.”
As an administrator, Hansen said his biggest challenge — and most important duty — was trying to get the special needs students across the stage with a diploma and developing programs to help them actually get a job while holding that diploma.
“Those are the kids that I hope I changed,” he said.
Sports have been a very integral part of both his schooling and his career. He played football while a student at Lincoln and also was an assistant football coach for 30 years. He also helped coach basketball for a few years.
“Athletics can teach you lessons that sometimes books can’t teach you … fall on your face, get up; get beat, get humiliated and come back from that,” he said. “I was fortunate because I worked with two gentlemen who were hall of fame coaches.”
Hansen said it’s very hard to leave. “But it’s time … it’s time,” he said. “There are a lot of other things I’d like to try.”
Hansen is also involved in city and county politics, and is a member of Out of Time, a rock and roll band.
“I figure Springsteen is 64 and he can still be singing,” he joked.
He leaves with a heart full of gratitude and hope for the future.
“I feel good about the district. I think the new superintendent, Mark Holzman, is strong and I like where he’s going and what he’s doing,” he said. “I have kind of had a storied career. I taught, I had my career in the city I grew up in, screwed up sometimes, but knew enough people who would forgive me, married a goddess, and raised three pretty good kids. I guess I got pretty lucky.”
Dave Begotka's Story (Excerpt)
Begotka.com
Dave learned through the media that Steven Avery had been charged in the assault and details that were presented to the public. He also heard talk from locals that the “Good Ole Boys” club were taking care of the situation to make sure that Steven Avery was sent to prison.
Naked Pictures – The Club
Not long (a month or two) after the incident on the beach Dave was at Two Rivers Tire and Muffler where he worked. A co-worker approached Dave and said a man (he called him by his name) wanted to speak to him. This man was and is a very prominent member of the community.
SIDE NOTE: We’ve not stated this person’s name. We feel this individual is very influential, having held office in local and state politics and we are concerned about back lash.
This man spoke to Dave and told him that “We” would like to invite you to join a special men’s club.
Naked Pictures – The Club
Not long (a month or two) after the incident on the beach Dave was at Two Rivers Tire and Muffler where he worked. A co-worker approached Dave and said a man (he called him by his name) wanted to speak to him. This man was and is a very prominent member of the community.
SIDE NOTE: We’ve not stated this person’s name. We feel this individual is very influential, having held office in local and state politics and we are concerned about back lash.
This man spoke to Dave and told him that “We” would like to invite you to join a special men’s club.
He showed Dave some photographs. In them were naked men, some of whom Dave recognized.
There were at least 2 high school teachers and a junior Ramblers football coach.
They appeared to be engaged in sexual acts. There were multiple men in each photo…like some kind of group thing was going on.
The guy told Dave that club members met at various hotels and venues in the area and not to worry…sometimes they got girls. He stated that many business owners and prominent people were in this club and that it was advantageous to be a member. He said Dave should come and talk to him to let him know if he wanted to participate.
Dave was freaked out by this (he was 19 at the time) and didn’t know what to say. He put the guy off and said he’d get back to him. Afterwards Dave recalls feeling stunned. He was mystified as to why this guy would show him these pictures and invite him to join this “club”. It was extremely weird.
First Learning About a “Club”
Now we’re going to go back in time to describe incidents that happened when Dave was a kid. He feels that they also relate to this “club” and are relevant to painting a picture of the culture that is part of the Manitowoc county area.
On several occasions when Dave was between 4 and 8 years old he was the victim/witness to domestic violence. These acts were committed against his family by a police officer. In one of the last and most dramatic of these incidents Dave and his family (single mother and younger sister) were forced to go into hiding because the police officer who committed the acts could not be located. Dave and his family left town and hid out at some sort of Catholic affiliated retreat in northern Wisconsin. Despite the police, a priest, several nuns, and a guidance counselor being involved and aware of the specifics of the incident, the events seemed to get covered up. It was later implied to Dave not to worry…the “Good Ole Boys Club” had taken care of it.
Fast forward to Dave’s freshman year in High School. After Dave quit football two boys on the team began to bully Dave. One of the boy’s father was rumored to be a big shot in this “Good Ole Boys Club”. These two began spreading rumors about Dave’s mother. They said that the boy’s father (the one rumored to be in the “club”) had made derogatory claims regarding Dave’s mom. The stigma of this followed Dave throughout his school days. Later on in the 90s Dave has another run in with this father in regards to the club…keep reading.
Dave’s Dungeon
In 1986 when Dave was 20 he bought a bar in the city of Manitowoc on 21st & Hamilton Streets (see 2018 image above). The bar was called Dave’s Dungeon. It was in the basement of a building the top portion of which consisted of apartments.
The guy told Dave that club members met at various hotels and venues in the area and not to worry…sometimes they got girls. He stated that many business owners and prominent people were in this club and that it was advantageous to be a member. He said Dave should come and talk to him to let him know if he wanted to participate.
Dave was freaked out by this (he was 19 at the time) and didn’t know what to say. He put the guy off and said he’d get back to him. Afterwards Dave recalls feeling stunned. He was mystified as to why this guy would show him these pictures and invite him to join this “club”. It was extremely weird.
First Learning About a “Club”
Now we’re going to go back in time to describe incidents that happened when Dave was a kid. He feels that they also relate to this “club” and are relevant to painting a picture of the culture that is part of the Manitowoc county area.
On several occasions when Dave was between 4 and 8 years old he was the victim/witness to domestic violence. These acts were committed against his family by a police officer. In one of the last and most dramatic of these incidents Dave and his family (single mother and younger sister) were forced to go into hiding because the police officer who committed the acts could not be located. Dave and his family left town and hid out at some sort of Catholic affiliated retreat in northern Wisconsin. Despite the police, a priest, several nuns, and a guidance counselor being involved and aware of the specifics of the incident, the events seemed to get covered up. It was later implied to Dave not to worry…the “Good Ole Boys Club” had taken care of it.
Fast forward to Dave’s freshman year in High School. After Dave quit football two boys on the team began to bully Dave. One of the boy’s father was rumored to be a big shot in this “Good Ole Boys Club”. These two began spreading rumors about Dave’s mother. They said that the boy’s father (the one rumored to be in the “club”) had made derogatory claims regarding Dave’s mom. The stigma of this followed Dave throughout his school days. Later on in the 90s Dave has another run in with this father in regards to the club…keep reading.
Dave’s Dungeon
In 1986 when Dave was 20 he bought a bar in the city of Manitowoc on 21st & Hamilton Streets (see 2018 image above). The bar was called Dave’s Dungeon. It was in the basement of a building the top portion of which consisted of apartments.
The place wasn’t open more than a few weeks and a man came in while Dave was bartending. Dave didn’t know the guy. He sat at the bar and ordered a few beers.
He explained to Dave that he was sent by the “club” to speak to him.
He went on to say that Dave needed to go to the basement of the Eagles Club (located in Manitowoc) in order to join this club. He didn’t say who Dave was supposed to see…just where he should go.
He was insistent that Dave must join this club. Dave asked him why. Why should he be interested in joining this?
The guy then explained how it worked. Essentially he described racketeering to Dave. He didn’t call it that…but it was the textbook definition.
Dave told this fellow sure….just to get him to leave him alone. But he had no intention of going to join anything.
Time passes. A month or two goes by. Into the bar walks the junior Ramblers football coach. This was one of the naked guys in the pictures Dave was shown after the assault on the beach.
Time passes. A month or two goes by. Into the bar walks the junior Ramblers football coach. This was one of the naked guys in the pictures Dave was shown after the assault on the beach.
The guy is friendly to Dave but starts reeling off the same speech as the man who’d been in there before. Dave needed to go to the Eagles club and join this “club”. Dave has the Ah Ha moment…this football coach guy was in the naked pictures…this is all part of the same “club”.
This reinforces Dave’s desire NOT to become involved with whomever it’s so important he go see in the Eagles basement. Dave blows the guy off, telling him sure he’ll go down there. Not!
Over the course of the year that Dave was actively tending his bar the same guy from the naked photos comes in several times. On each occasion he adamantly requests that Dave go join this club. He practically begs Dave. Telling him things such as, “You don’t want to get on the wrong side of these guys”.
Finally the last time Dave encounters this fellow he becomes belligerent. He starts yelling and waving his fist at Dave. Before storming out of the bar he tells Dave he’d better take care of joining or else “something is going to happen”. There were other people in the bar at the time who witnessed this. They even asked Dave what the guy’s problem was.
Something to add is that almost immediately after Dave opened the bar there had been one problem after another. Three different people were suing him. The city authority on housing was getting after him about the apartments in the building. There were burglaries and vandalism. It may have just been bad luck. But Dave wonders now if it could have been related to him refusing to join this “club”.
Mary Ann
About a year after Dave opened the bar he hired Mary Ann Dehne. Mary Ann had operated a bar called Pat & Mike’s just down the road from Dave’s Dungeon. She began bartending and then proposed managing the bar. Dave was pleased with the job she did and she took over the bulk of day to day responsibilities.
Mary Ann began reporting to Dave that a few men were repeatedly coming in and harassing her. She told him they were telling her that Dave had to join the “club”. Dave told Mary Ann to blow them off.
Over the course of the year that Dave was actively tending his bar the same guy from the naked photos comes in several times. On each occasion he adamantly requests that Dave go join this club. He practically begs Dave. Telling him things such as, “You don’t want to get on the wrong side of these guys”.
Finally the last time Dave encounters this fellow he becomes belligerent. He starts yelling and waving his fist at Dave. Before storming out of the bar he tells Dave he’d better take care of joining or else “something is going to happen”. There were other people in the bar at the time who witnessed this. They even asked Dave what the guy’s problem was.
Something to add is that almost immediately after Dave opened the bar there had been one problem after another. Three different people were suing him. The city authority on housing was getting after him about the apartments in the building. There were burglaries and vandalism. It may have just been bad luck. But Dave wonders now if it could have been related to him refusing to join this “club”.
Mary Ann
About a year after Dave opened the bar he hired Mary Ann Dehne. Mary Ann had operated a bar called Pat & Mike’s just down the road from Dave’s Dungeon. She began bartending and then proposed managing the bar. Dave was pleased with the job she did and she took over the bulk of day to day responsibilities.
Mary Ann began reporting to Dave that a few men were repeatedly coming in and harassing her. She told him they were telling her that Dave had to join the “club”. Dave told Mary Ann to blow them off.
On the last day Dave spoke to Mary Ann in person she said she was sleeping with a gun because she was so fearful of these people. Dave suggested they go to the police to which Mary Ann responded, “They are the police.”
Dave was preparing to travel to upstate Wisconsin on a hunting trip so he told Mary Ann he’d figure out what to do when he returned.
On Nov 15, 1988 Dave set off on his trip. He was gone for about a week and half. During that time he was unreachable by phone.
On Nov 15, 1988 Dave set off on his trip. He was gone for about a week and half. During that time he was unreachable by phone.
Upon his return his mom told him that Mary Ann had been found dead in her apartment (in Manitowoc) on the day Dave left. He couldn’t believe it.
He called a friend to go with him to Dave’s Dungeon. The bar was a mess and ransacked. It looked like it had been the scene of a big party. Everything of value was gone. All the liquor, beer, many fixtures, money.
Mary Ann’s boyfriend (Dave doesn’t remember his name) happened to drive by the bar and saw Dave’s car parked outside. He stopped in and explained to Dave that he’d been the one who found Mary Ann. He came home and discovered her lying in bed, covered in blood, dead, with a gun on the nightstand. The boyfriend claims he called the police and when they showed up they immediately handcuffed him. They suspected he killed her due to all the blood. He wasn’t cuffed for long and they released him. He told Dave they deemed the death a heart attack. Dave didn’t get further details about that incident.
The boyfriend went on to tell him about the huge, free for all party that had taken place. It had occurred the weekend after Mary Ann’s death. He said he didn’t know who opened the bar and/or started the party but apparently there were possibly hundreds of people there.
After this Dave decided to go talk to Mary Ann’s teenage son. He didn’t provide any useful details either. Dave did contact the police to report what had happened at his bar. He was informed there was nothing that the police could do.
Mary Ann’s boyfriend (Dave doesn’t remember his name) happened to drive by the bar and saw Dave’s car parked outside. He stopped in and explained to Dave that he’d been the one who found Mary Ann. He came home and discovered her lying in bed, covered in blood, dead, with a gun on the nightstand. The boyfriend claims he called the police and when they showed up they immediately handcuffed him. They suspected he killed her due to all the blood. He wasn’t cuffed for long and they released him. He told Dave they deemed the death a heart attack. Dave didn’t get further details about that incident.
The boyfriend went on to tell him about the huge, free for all party that had taken place. It had occurred the weekend after Mary Ann’s death. He said he didn’t know who opened the bar and/or started the party but apparently there were possibly hundreds of people there.
After this Dave decided to go talk to Mary Ann’s teenage son. He didn’t provide any useful details either. Dave did contact the police to report what had happened at his bar. He was informed there was nothing that the police could do.
Dave was forced to declare bankruptcy and that was the end of Dave’s Dungeon.
In the years after Dave crossed paths with individuals who claimed to have been at this party. Several times he heard that people from the “club” were at the party giving everything away.
In the years after Dave crossed paths with individuals who claimed to have been at this party. Several times he heard that people from the “club” were at the party giving everything away.
So was this the “Something is Going to Happen” that Dave was promised by the naked football coach guy?
Another Invitation
In the mid-90s (estimates it was 1995) Dave again experienced a brush with the “club”. He’d been invited to a local supper club (bar & restaurant) by friends. He suspected these friends were knowledgeable about the “club” and he’d recently been asking them about it. They’d consistently avoided answering.
On this night after the restaurant crowd had thinned the friends told Dave they had a surprise for him. They led him over to some people sitting at another area of the bar. As he approached a man introduced himself. It turned out he was the father of the kid who’d spread the rumors about Dave’s mom in high school. This guy said he wanted to invite Dave to join a special club. After realizing who the guy was Dave told him to get bent. He also confronted him about the rumors regarding his mom, and the harassment he and Mary Ann had been subjected to by this “club”. The man seemed stunned and Dave headed out of the place. His friends caught up with him at the door and told him “he had to go back”. They were adamant that Dave should make nice and that he couldn’t refuse this invitation. Dave asked them why he should. They said for jobs/work/money. He explained why he had no use for the guy handing out the invite and basically told them no thanks and he left.
County sales tax option draws opinions
TC News publisher
December 12, 2017
Kiel’s supervisor on the Manitowoc County Board, Jim Baumann (left) shares a point with Manitowoc County Board Chairman Jim Brey during the Monday town hall meeting on the potential half percent county sales tax.
Manitowoc County’s Finance Committee paid a visit to Kiel Monday evening for the purpose of hearing public input on a potential half percent county sales tax.
Although no official plan has yet been formalized to create such a sales tax or determine its distribution, the Manitowoc County Board of Supervisors committee has asked for the public to share their perspectives.
County Board Finance Committee Chairperson Biff Hansen chaired the meeting, saying, “We want to know if this is something the people want. And, if we ask for the half percent sales tax, what will we spend it on?”
The Latest On The Proposed Manitowoc County Sales Tax
Lakeshore News
May 19, 2018
The Manitowoc County Finance Committee continue to discuss the possible implementation of a half-percent sales tax. County Executive Bob Zigelbauer on where he feels the full 25-member county board is in the process.
Audio Player
Zigelbauer admits the Finance Committee is warming up somewhat to the idea.
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The tax would raise $6 million annually for what committee members would like to see invested in infrastructure—especially roads. Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels and Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley have both lobbied Zigelbauer to endorse the tax saying there’s no extra money to fix what’s already broken and the costs are only going to increase with each passing year. However-cities and municipalities have no say on where the money would go—it can only be delegated by county government.
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Finance Committee chair Paul “Biff” Hansen told Seehafer News this week that they plan to reach out to Sheboygan County who recently enacted the tax to see how their handling it.
Manitowoc County is one of only six in the state without the tax.
WHO IS MIKE BUSHMAN?
Loof wasn't the first canine that tracked to Kuss Road. It would have been Mike Bushman's canine. It would explain why he was there, leading a search team, and how he discovered the disturbed area of soil in the wooded area off of Kuss Road on November 7, 2005.
Bushman was the first "canine handler" for MTSO starting in 1983.
Bushman was one of two officers who accompanied Ken Petersen to arrest Steven Avery in 1985 for a crime for which he was later exonerated and for which Avery was suing the county.
At the time of Teresa Halbach's disappearance, Bushman was retired from the K-9 Unit and worked part-time as a reserve deputy for Manitowoc County.
Nov 7th "Suspicious Incident on Kuss Rd" DISTRACTION was created by retired MTSO deputy [one of SA’s arresting officers in July 1985]
By MsMinxster, MakingaMurderer
By my count, here are the strange, coincidental connections in this investigation (that reek of conflict of interest):
Retired Dep. Bushman (led the MTSO team who found cell phone barrel on November 7 also responsible for the distraction on Kuss Rd later that day)— SA’s arresting officer in 85, investigated a sexual assault committed by Gregory Allen two weeks prior to PB assault
Nurse Fay (SA's overly enthusiastic DNA swabber on Nov 9)--Undersheriff Hermann’s next-door neighbor, Kocourek's neighbor
Remiker (found magic bullet)—Kocourek’s cousin
Sgt. Jost (part of Bushman's MTSO team who found cell phone barrel on Nov 7, 1st bone siting on Nov 8)—cousin of MH’s fiancé, cousin to Radandts
Lenk/Colborn (planted discovered Toyota key on Nov 8)—deposed in SA's civil suit for their involvement in '99 phone call regarding Gregory Allen
Pam Sturm (led by God to RAV4 on Nov 5)—cousin to Sheriff Pagel
Perhaps the reason LE was so quick to brush aside or misdirect any scrutiny on the quarry—Josh Radandt’s brother and co-owner of the quarry is married to the only granddaughter of 27-year veteran of MTSO and former Captain of Detectives, Don Belz. (During SA's appeal of '85 conviction, Capt Belz told a PI investigating the case he had suspected Steven was innocent but couldn't do anything about it because Kocourek wouldn't allow him to talk about the case.)
During Bushman's Nov 7 Stump Distraction on Kuss Rd. (approximately 11am-5pm), among others, T. Hermann, R. Hermann, Jost, and Jacobs of MTSO signed in and out on numerous occasions at Avery property as did Pagel.
Ryan Hillegas and Scott Bloedorn were on site (Avery) from 9:53am-4:28pm, and our good friend Wendy Cross-Burner was guarding a burn barrel.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4i7b6l/nov_7th_suspicious_incident_on_kuss_rd/
Plot and Plant (a timeline of 11/7)
By treefortress, MakingaMurderer
November 7th Timeline:
10:35 AM Dedering receives call from Weigart about suspicious area at the end of Kuss Rd.
10:45 AM Dedering arrives at Kuss Rd. and speaks with retired deputy Bushman, who was leading a search group in the area when they found the disturbed soil.
10:58 AM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson were called to Kuss Rd. (presumably by Dedering or Wiegart).
11:06 AM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson leave Avery property heading to Kuss Rd..
11:20 AM Fauske, K-9 and Reimer begin search. This eventually leads to a strong track to Kuss Rd from red house trailer (sometime between now and 5:29pm when she leaves)
12:46 PM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson return to Avery Property according to crime scene logs.
12:50 PM Dedering, Fassbender, and Bushman return to Avery’s from Kuss Rd. site. Bushman is a retired Manitowoc cop and civilian searching for Halbach, he found the Kuss Rd. excavation site and called it in. At this point, all the main LE suspects have arrived and are near one another.
PLAN IS MADE HERE.
THE CALL IS MADE TO GET ERTL AWAY FROM BARRELS AT CRIME LAB AND BACK TO AVERY’s (unknown who makes this call WEIGERT/DEDERING/KRATZ?).
MUTSZAK IS SENT TO CRIME LAB TO RETRIEVE TRAILER WITH BARREL #4 (Where they will plant the bones). HE WILL PICK UP CELL PHONE BARREL AND DROP OFF BARREL #4 at AVERY's CELL PHONE PLANTED IN BARREL IN FRONT OF AVERY’s (12:50pm - 1:15pm)
?:??PM Ertl, Cates & Zhang are called back to Avery property from Crime Lab where they are processing the burn barrels. (by whom?)
1:10 PM Mutszak leaves Avery's to pick up trailer from Crime Lab.
1:15 PM Baldwin takes guard post by cell phone burn barrel.
1:51 PM Fauske, K-9 and Riemer return to Avery’s from searching.
1:37 PM Fauske, K-9 and Riemer leave Avery's on search.
2:40 PM Ertl, Cates & Zhang check in at Avery property
2:50 PM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson return to searching Janda residence for firearms. Tyson does not mention returning to Avery property at 12:46. (this could be a typo as it could have been 2:46).
2:51 PM Ertl, Cates & Zhang leave Avery Property
3:08 PM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson exit Janda residence concluding their search for firearms.
3:10 PM According to Tyson, they are called back to Kuss Rd. b/c WI State Crime Lab is there.
3:27 PM Lenk and Colburn leave Avery property according to the crime scene log. Tyson is not listed on the crime scene log as checking out…(however he checks back in with Lenk/Colburn.
3:30 PM (est. time) Colburn/Lenk/Tyson enter crime scene after checking in with Dedering. After photos are complete, they dig up the area and quickly find out it is not a possible grave or burial site. Report this to Dedering via telephone (4:51pm?). Crime scene tape removed and area reopened.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS WEIRD and TRICKY.
3:25 PM Mutzsak checks into Avery property towing trailer with Janda barrel #4 on it (bones). This trailer came back from the crime lab. Colburn and Lenk helped load these barrels the day before 11/6. Mutzsak unloads Barrel #4 at Avery's and collects the Cell Phone barrel in front of SA's trailer.
3:39 PM Baldwin is relieved of her post at cell phone barrel after Matuszak collects it.
3:45 PM Matuszak reports taking control of the Cell Phone Barrel
3:51 PM Fauske, K9 and Riemer leave Avery property
4:20 PM Matuszak leaves the property with the trailer containing the cell phone barrel but not barrel #4.
4:28 PM Ryan Hillegas and Scott Bloedorn leave Avery property
DARKNESS FALLS
4:51 PM Dedering states that Kuss Rd. Scene is processed by WI State Crime lab. He is informed that this site “is not pertinent to this case presumably by TYSON/LENK/COLBURN.”
5:15 PM Tyson returns from Kuss Rd.
COLBURN AND LENK NEVER CHECK BACK IN (but they do end up checking out).
COLBURN LENK COULD ENTER FROM KUSS RD. VIA THE BACK ROUTE TO SA’s. (They know now because they witnessed the Fauske K-9 and Reimer do it.)
BONES PLANTED in BARREL #4
5:27 PM ERTL checks in (from crime lab? with bone?)
5:28 PM Fauske and K-9 Leave for the day.
5:58 PM Riemer and the last of the Fire Department search party leaves Avery’s
5:58 PM Tyson checks out
Colburn/Lenk under cover of darkness after the search party has just left and free of CASO handler Tyson. Only about 10 people on the Avery property.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4g5i5q/plot_and_plant_a_timeline_of_117/
"Suspicious incident." CASO report, page 133
By res_ispa_loquitur, MakingaMurderer
While searching BJ's residence, Tyson receives a call at 1058 about a suspicious incident. Tyson (836), Colborn (432), and Lenk (204?) are told they need to leave BJ's residence and respond to Kuss Rd. After clearing the "incident," they return to BJ's at 1450...almost 4 hours later. After clearing BJ's residence at 1508, they are told to go BACK to the suspicious scene on Kuss Road to meet with the crime lab personnel (even though they already cleared the suspicious incident) and they assisted the crime lab with digging up dirt in what they thought was a "possible grave or burial site." Was the suspicious incident the fact that they found disturbed soil and if they cleared the incident, why was the crime lab called to the site and why did they start digging? Or was the suspicious incident the fact that someone create a distraction, forcing Tyson, Colborn, and Lenk to leave the area near BJ's and SA's residences?
I did a quick comparison to the logs, and this happens to be the timeframe where ins and outs are the most screwy. And ironically, the same timeframe when Ryan and Scott are unaccounted for. This also happens to be the timeframe when Tyson, Colborn, and Lenk should be checking in and out at the same time, since Tyson claims they're serving warrants together and somehow arrive together. But they don't log in or out together. After 1246 hours, Tyson operates on a different schedule than Colborn and Lenk, and he appears to start running around with Riemer (somewhat illegible on log). And I'm having a hard time finding a check out for Tyson between 1246 and 1715 (5:15 on log). I see two check ins instead. Any thoughts?
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4fg3gn/suspicious_incident_caso_report_page_133/
Nov 7th "Suspicious Incident on Kuss Rd" DISTRACTION was created by retired MTSO deputy [one of SA’s arresting officers in July 1985]
By MsMinxster, MakingaMurderer
Jul 29, 1985 at 11:15 PM: Sgt Petersen along with Officers Jim Froelich and Mike Bushman entered Steven's house without a warrant or permission to enter and arrested him for the sexual assault of PB (charge was later changed to attempted murder). Deputy Arland Avery accompanied them because he was worried about Lori and the kids.
Nov 7, 2005 at 10:35 AM: Retired Deputy Inspector Mike Bushman, of MTSO was leading a team of searchers in the area at the end of Kuss Road (approximately one half mile from the western edge of AVERY property) when he found a possible excavation site. (CASO p. 137) According to Tyson, it was 3X3 feet area of disturbed soil. (CASO p. 133)
Dedering is called to the scene, the area taped off and no one allowed in or out.
Tyson is called away from Barb’s to the suspicious scene on Kuss Rd., which he clears then returns to Barb’s.
Despite Tyson clearing the scene, Ertl of WI Crime Lab is called away from searching the Janda burn barrels at CASO to Kuss Rd. where he finds:
"…an area with disturbed soil. To me it didn't look like a grave site. It looked more like a rotten stump to me, where the wood had just turned into like humus. There were no plants growing up through it really. So it was a barren spot. So it kind of looked like it was disturbed." (Ertl’s testimony, p. 6)
Tyson is recalled to the rotten stump, which retired MTSO Deputy Investigator Bushman mistook for a “potential burial site.”
This continued until 5:45pm, at which time it was determined Bushman's stump was not pertinent to the case.
During the crucial 48 hours after the RAV4 is discovered, more than half a day is dedicated to Bushman’s rotten stump, taking key personnel away from the Avery property and burn barrel search.
THEN-
November 8, 2005
Cremains found in fire pit.
License plates found in car on path close to Steve's trailer.
Burn barrel discovered by Steve's trailer.
Key is found in Steve's trailer.
Bones, teeth found.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4i7b6l/nov_7th_suspicious_incident_on_kuss_rd/
November 7, 2005
When: 6:59 a.m. until 7:10 a.m.
Circumstances: Radandt's third consecutive day of visiting the secured crime scene. Schetter, third in command at the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, was one of the highest-ranking officials at the scene when Radandt came by.
Minutes after the quarry operator left, a large contingent of Manitowoc sheriff's deputies arrived for their shift, including Lenk, Colborn, Detective Dennis Jacobs, Lt. Todd Hermann, and Schetter's predecessor, Mike Bushman, who had recently retired but remained as a part-time reserve deputy.
Zellner filing: Radandt "accessed the property from the quarry four times, for some unknown reason, after it had been closed to the public. (Radandt) accessed the property within minutes of Officers Colborn and Lenk on November 5 and twice on November 7 ... Mr. Avery is requesting DNA testing on the burnt material found at the Radandt deer hunting camp west of the Avery Salvage Yard to determine whether there are any items of evidentiary value at the deer camp."
When: 9:03 a.m. to 9:53 a.m.
Circumstances: Hillegas and Bloedorn, who came from 40 minutes away, spent nearly an hour at the secured scene.
That morning, Bushman agreed to lead a four-member evidence search party of fellow Manitowoc sheriff's deputies. Deputy Dave Siders later testified he came across Avery's burn barrel and removed a heavy metal tire rim from inside. Remnants of a Motorola emblem for a cellphone and debris from a camera were identified. Authorities insisted the charred debris was Halbach's camera and cellphone.
Zellner filing: "There are conflicting dates (Nov. 5 and Nov. 7) about law enforcement's discovery of the remnants of Ms. Halbach's Motorola Razr cell phone, Palm Pilot and camera in a burn barrel in Mr. Avery's yard. No mention was made at trial about the second Motorola cell phone taken from Ms. Halbach's home on November 3, 2005 ... Mr. Avery is requesting to examine items described as a Motorola Razr phone and box from the victim's dining room ... The inability of the State to produce the Motorola phone located in the victim's residence would demonstrate that it was the phone placed in the burn barrel by law enforcement."
Another Invitation
In the mid-90s (estimates it was 1995) Dave again experienced a brush with the “club”. He’d been invited to a local supper club (bar & restaurant) by friends. He suspected these friends were knowledgeable about the “club” and he’d recently been asking them about it. They’d consistently avoided answering.
On this night after the restaurant crowd had thinned the friends told Dave they had a surprise for him. They led him over to some people sitting at another area of the bar. As he approached a man introduced himself. It turned out he was the father of the kid who’d spread the rumors about Dave’s mom in high school. This guy said he wanted to invite Dave to join a special club. After realizing who the guy was Dave told him to get bent. He also confronted him about the rumors regarding his mom, and the harassment he and Mary Ann had been subjected to by this “club”. The man seemed stunned and Dave headed out of the place. His friends caught up with him at the door and told him “he had to go back”. They were adamant that Dave should make nice and that he couldn’t refuse this invitation. Dave asked them why he should. They said for jobs/work/money. He explained why he had no use for the guy handing out the invite and basically told them no thanks and he left.
County sales tax option draws opinions
TC News publisher
December 12, 2017
Kiel’s supervisor on the Manitowoc County Board, Jim Baumann (left) shares a point with Manitowoc County Board Chairman Jim Brey during the Monday town hall meeting on the potential half percent county sales tax.
Manitowoc County’s Finance Committee paid a visit to Kiel Monday evening for the purpose of hearing public input on a potential half percent county sales tax.
Although no official plan has yet been formalized to create such a sales tax or determine its distribution, the Manitowoc County Board of Supervisors committee has asked for the public to share their perspectives.
County Board Finance Committee Chairperson Biff Hansen chaired the meeting, saying, “We want to know if this is something the people want. And, if we ask for the half percent sales tax, what will we spend it on?”
The Latest On The Proposed Manitowoc County Sales Tax
Lakeshore News
May 19, 2018
The Manitowoc County Finance Committee continue to discuss the possible implementation of a half-percent sales tax. County Executive Bob Zigelbauer on where he feels the full 25-member county board is in the process.
Audio Player
Zigelbauer admits the Finance Committee is warming up somewhat to the idea.
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The tax would raise $6 million annually for what committee members would like to see invested in infrastructure—especially roads. Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels and Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley have both lobbied Zigelbauer to endorse the tax saying there’s no extra money to fix what’s already broken and the costs are only going to increase with each passing year. However-cities and municipalities have no say on where the money would go—it can only be delegated by county government.
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Finance Committee chair Paul “Biff” Hansen told Seehafer News this week that they plan to reach out to Sheboygan County who recently enacted the tax to see how their handling it.
Manitowoc County is one of only six in the state without the tax.
WHO IS MIKE BUSHMAN?
Loof wasn't the first canine that tracked to Kuss Road. It would have been Mike Bushman's canine. It would explain why he was there, leading a search team, and how he discovered the disturbed area of soil in the wooded area off of Kuss Road on November 7, 2005.
Bushman was the first "canine handler" for MTSO starting in 1983.
Bushman was one of two officers who accompanied Ken Petersen to arrest Steven Avery in 1985 for a crime for which he was later exonerated and for which Avery was suing the county.
At the time of Teresa Halbach's disappearance, Bushman was retired from the K-9 Unit and worked part-time as a reserve deputy for Manitowoc County.
Nov 7th "Suspicious Incident on Kuss Rd" DISTRACTION was created by retired MTSO deputy [one of SA’s arresting officers in July 1985]
By MsMinxster, MakingaMurderer
By my count, here are the strange, coincidental connections in this investigation (that reek of conflict of interest):
Retired Dep. Bushman (led the MTSO team who found cell phone barrel on November 7 also responsible for the distraction on Kuss Rd later that day)— SA’s arresting officer in 85, investigated a sexual assault committed by Gregory Allen two weeks prior to PB assault
Nurse Fay (SA's overly enthusiastic DNA swabber on Nov 9)--Undersheriff Hermann’s next-door neighbor, Kocourek's neighbor
Remiker (found magic bullet)—Kocourek’s cousin
Sgt. Jost (part of Bushman's MTSO team who found cell phone barrel on Nov 7, 1st bone siting on Nov 8)—cousin of MH’s fiancé, cousin to Radandts
Lenk/Colborn (planted discovered Toyota key on Nov 8)—deposed in SA's civil suit for their involvement in '99 phone call regarding Gregory Allen
Pam Sturm (led by God to RAV4 on Nov 5)—cousin to Sheriff Pagel
Perhaps the reason LE was so quick to brush aside or misdirect any scrutiny on the quarry—Josh Radandt’s brother and co-owner of the quarry is married to the only granddaughter of 27-year veteran of MTSO and former Captain of Detectives, Don Belz. (During SA's appeal of '85 conviction, Capt Belz told a PI investigating the case he had suspected Steven was innocent but couldn't do anything about it because Kocourek wouldn't allow him to talk about the case.)
During Bushman's Nov 7 Stump Distraction on Kuss Rd. (approximately 11am-5pm), among others, T. Hermann, R. Hermann, Jost, and Jacobs of MTSO signed in and out on numerous occasions at Avery property as did Pagel.
Ryan Hillegas and Scott Bloedorn were on site (Avery) from 9:53am-4:28pm, and our good friend Wendy Cross-Burner was guarding a burn barrel.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4i7b6l/nov_7th_suspicious_incident_on_kuss_rd/
Plot and Plant (a timeline of 11/7)
By treefortress, MakingaMurderer
November 7th Timeline:
10:35 AM Dedering receives call from Weigart about suspicious area at the end of Kuss Rd.
10:45 AM Dedering arrives at Kuss Rd. and speaks with retired deputy Bushman, who was leading a search group in the area when they found the disturbed soil.
10:58 AM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson were called to Kuss Rd. (presumably by Dedering or Wiegart).
11:06 AM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson leave Avery property heading to Kuss Rd..
11:20 AM Fauske, K-9 and Reimer begin search. This eventually leads to a strong track to Kuss Rd from red house trailer (sometime between now and 5:29pm when she leaves)
12:46 PM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson return to Avery Property according to crime scene logs.
12:50 PM Dedering, Fassbender, and Bushman return to Avery’s from Kuss Rd. site. Bushman is a retired Manitowoc cop and civilian searching for Halbach, he found the Kuss Rd. excavation site and called it in. At this point, all the main LE suspects have arrived and are near one another.
PLAN IS MADE HERE.
THE CALL IS MADE TO GET ERTL AWAY FROM BARRELS AT CRIME LAB AND BACK TO AVERY’s (unknown who makes this call WEIGERT/DEDERING/KRATZ?).
MUTSZAK IS SENT TO CRIME LAB TO RETRIEVE TRAILER WITH BARREL #4 (Where they will plant the bones). HE WILL PICK UP CELL PHONE BARREL AND DROP OFF BARREL #4 at AVERY's CELL PHONE PLANTED IN BARREL IN FRONT OF AVERY’s (12:50pm - 1:15pm)
?:??PM Ertl, Cates & Zhang are called back to Avery property from Crime Lab where they are processing the burn barrels. (by whom?)
1:10 PM Mutszak leaves Avery's to pick up trailer from Crime Lab.
1:15 PM Baldwin takes guard post by cell phone burn barrel.
1:51 PM Fauske, K-9 and Riemer return to Avery’s from searching.
1:37 PM Fauske, K-9 and Riemer leave Avery's on search.
2:40 PM Ertl, Cates & Zhang check in at Avery property
2:50 PM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson return to searching Janda residence for firearms. Tyson does not mention returning to Avery property at 12:46. (this could be a typo as it could have been 2:46).
2:51 PM Ertl, Cates & Zhang leave Avery Property
3:08 PM Colburn/Lenk/Tyson exit Janda residence concluding their search for firearms.
3:10 PM According to Tyson, they are called back to Kuss Rd. b/c WI State Crime Lab is there.
3:27 PM Lenk and Colburn leave Avery property according to the crime scene log. Tyson is not listed on the crime scene log as checking out…(however he checks back in with Lenk/Colburn.
3:30 PM (est. time) Colburn/Lenk/Tyson enter crime scene after checking in with Dedering. After photos are complete, they dig up the area and quickly find out it is not a possible grave or burial site. Report this to Dedering via telephone (4:51pm?). Crime scene tape removed and area reopened.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS WEIRD and TRICKY.
3:25 PM Mutzsak checks into Avery property towing trailer with Janda barrel #4 on it (bones). This trailer came back from the crime lab. Colburn and Lenk helped load these barrels the day before 11/6. Mutzsak unloads Barrel #4 at Avery's and collects the Cell Phone barrel in front of SA's trailer.
3:39 PM Baldwin is relieved of her post at cell phone barrel after Matuszak collects it.
3:45 PM Matuszak reports taking control of the Cell Phone Barrel
3:51 PM Fauske, K9 and Riemer leave Avery property
4:20 PM Matuszak leaves the property with the trailer containing the cell phone barrel but not barrel #4.
4:28 PM Ryan Hillegas and Scott Bloedorn leave Avery property
DARKNESS FALLS
4:51 PM Dedering states that Kuss Rd. Scene is processed by WI State Crime lab. He is informed that this site “is not pertinent to this case presumably by TYSON/LENK/COLBURN.”
5:15 PM Tyson returns from Kuss Rd.
COLBURN AND LENK NEVER CHECK BACK IN (but they do end up checking out).
COLBURN LENK COULD ENTER FROM KUSS RD. VIA THE BACK ROUTE TO SA’s. (They know now because they witnessed the Fauske K-9 and Reimer do it.)
BONES PLANTED in BARREL #4
5:27 PM ERTL checks in (from crime lab? with bone?)
5:28 PM Fauske and K-9 Leave for the day.
5:58 PM Riemer and the last of the Fire Department search party leaves Avery’s
5:58 PM Tyson checks out
Colburn/Lenk under cover of darkness after the search party has just left and free of CASO handler Tyson. Only about 10 people on the Avery property.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4g5i5q/plot_and_plant_a_timeline_of_117/
"Suspicious incident." CASO report, page 133
By res_ispa_loquitur, MakingaMurderer
While searching BJ's residence, Tyson receives a call at 1058 about a suspicious incident. Tyson (836), Colborn (432), and Lenk (204?) are told they need to leave BJ's residence and respond to Kuss Rd. After clearing the "incident," they return to BJ's at 1450...almost 4 hours later. After clearing BJ's residence at 1508, they are told to go BACK to the suspicious scene on Kuss Road to meet with the crime lab personnel (even though they already cleared the suspicious incident) and they assisted the crime lab with digging up dirt in what they thought was a "possible grave or burial site." Was the suspicious incident the fact that they found disturbed soil and if they cleared the incident, why was the crime lab called to the site and why did they start digging? Or was the suspicious incident the fact that someone create a distraction, forcing Tyson, Colborn, and Lenk to leave the area near BJ's and SA's residences?
I did a quick comparison to the logs, and this happens to be the timeframe where ins and outs are the most screwy. And ironically, the same timeframe when Ryan and Scott are unaccounted for. This also happens to be the timeframe when Tyson, Colborn, and Lenk should be checking in and out at the same time, since Tyson claims they're serving warrants together and somehow arrive together. But they don't log in or out together. After 1246 hours, Tyson operates on a different schedule than Colborn and Lenk, and he appears to start running around with Riemer (somewhat illegible on log). And I'm having a hard time finding a check out for Tyson between 1246 and 1715 (5:15 on log). I see two check ins instead. Any thoughts?
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4fg3gn/suspicious_incident_caso_report_page_133/
Nov 7th "Suspicious Incident on Kuss Rd" DISTRACTION was created by retired MTSO deputy [one of SA’s arresting officers in July 1985]
By MsMinxster, MakingaMurderer
Jul 29, 1985 at 11:15 PM: Sgt Petersen along with Officers Jim Froelich and Mike Bushman entered Steven's house without a warrant or permission to enter and arrested him for the sexual assault of PB (charge was later changed to attempted murder). Deputy Arland Avery accompanied them because he was worried about Lori and the kids.
Nov 7, 2005 at 10:35 AM: Retired Deputy Inspector Mike Bushman, of MTSO was leading a team of searchers in the area at the end of Kuss Road (approximately one half mile from the western edge of AVERY property) when he found a possible excavation site. (CASO p. 137) According to Tyson, it was 3X3 feet area of disturbed soil. (CASO p. 133)
Dedering is called to the scene, the area taped off and no one allowed in or out.
Tyson is called away from Barb’s to the suspicious scene on Kuss Rd., which he clears then returns to Barb’s.
Despite Tyson clearing the scene, Ertl of WI Crime Lab is called away from searching the Janda burn barrels at CASO to Kuss Rd. where he finds:
"…an area with disturbed soil. To me it didn't look like a grave site. It looked more like a rotten stump to me, where the wood had just turned into like humus. There were no plants growing up through it really. So it was a barren spot. So it kind of looked like it was disturbed." (Ertl’s testimony, p. 6)
Tyson is recalled to the rotten stump, which retired MTSO Deputy Investigator Bushman mistook for a “potential burial site.”
This continued until 5:45pm, at which time it was determined Bushman's stump was not pertinent to the case.
During the crucial 48 hours after the RAV4 is discovered, more than half a day is dedicated to Bushman’s rotten stump, taking key personnel away from the Avery property and burn barrel search.
THEN-
November 8, 2005
Cremains found in fire pit.
License plates found in car on path close to Steve's trailer.
Burn barrel discovered by Steve's trailer.
Key is found in Steve's trailer.
Bones, teeth found.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/4i7b6l/nov_7th_suspicious_incident_on_kuss_rd/
November 7, 2005
When: 6:59 a.m. until 7:10 a.m.
Circumstances: Radandt's third consecutive day of visiting the secured crime scene. Schetter, third in command at the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, was one of the highest-ranking officials at the scene when Radandt came by.
Minutes after the quarry operator left, a large contingent of Manitowoc sheriff's deputies arrived for their shift, including Lenk, Colborn, Detective Dennis Jacobs, Lt. Todd Hermann, and Schetter's predecessor, Mike Bushman, who had recently retired but remained as a part-time reserve deputy.
Zellner filing: Radandt "accessed the property from the quarry four times, for some unknown reason, after it had been closed to the public. (Radandt) accessed the property within minutes of Officers Colborn and Lenk on November 5 and twice on November 7 ... Mr. Avery is requesting DNA testing on the burnt material found at the Radandt deer hunting camp west of the Avery Salvage Yard to determine whether there are any items of evidentiary value at the deer camp."
When: 9:03 a.m. to 9:53 a.m.
Circumstances: Hillegas and Bloedorn, who came from 40 minutes away, spent nearly an hour at the secured scene.
That morning, Bushman agreed to lead a four-member evidence search party of fellow Manitowoc sheriff's deputies. Deputy Dave Siders later testified he came across Avery's burn barrel and removed a heavy metal tire rim from inside. Remnants of a Motorola emblem for a cellphone and debris from a camera were identified. Authorities insisted the charred debris was Halbach's camera and cellphone.
Zellner filing: "There are conflicting dates (Nov. 5 and Nov. 7) about law enforcement's discovery of the remnants of Ms. Halbach's Motorola Razr cell phone, Palm Pilot and camera in a burn barrel in Mr. Avery's yard. No mention was made at trial about the second Motorola cell phone taken from Ms. Halbach's home on November 3, 2005 ... Mr. Avery is requesting to examine items described as a Motorola Razr phone and box from the victim's dining room ... The inability of the State to produce the Motorola phone located in the victim's residence would demonstrate that it was the phone placed in the burn barrel by law enforcement."
By MsMinxster, TickTockManitowoc
Why was retired MTSO Deputy Bushman (who was also one of SA’s arresting officers in the 1985 case) leading a search team of LEO (and not a group of volunteers as stated in CASO report later that day)? And why didn’t MTSO Deputy Siders mention that Bushman was retired in his testimony or in his report?
MTSO Deputy Siders’s testimony Day 6, p.149:
A. Myself, along with Sergeant Scott Senglaub, Deputy Mike Bushman and Sergeant Jason Jost responded to 12930 Avery Road, would be the Avery Salvage Yard, to assist Calumet County Sheriff's Department searching the property.
Q. What were your responsibilities upon arrival at that scene?
A. We were to make contact with the officer in charge at the scene to get the daily duties.
Q. Okay. Were you given a specific job that day?
A. We were informed by the OIC [Officer in charge] to get in search groups. The search group I was in was search group A. Our team leader of that search group was Deputy Mike Bushman of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department.
SIDERS Report (MTSO Summary Report p. 13) 11/07/05@0800 hrs:
I Deputy Siders, along with Sgt. Senglaub, Sgt. Jost, and Deputy M. Bushman responded to AVERY AUTO SALVAGE to assist the CASO with searching the property and the surrounding area…The group which I was put in was "Group A," and the team leader was Deputy M. Bushman. Also in the group were officers from the CASO and volunteer fire fighters from surrounding FDs. [Which CASO officers?]
While searching the land north of STEVEN AVERY'S residence, a corn field, I came across a burning barrel which was in my section of area to search. The burning barrel was located out front of STEVEN'S residence next to the cornfield. [Contrary to Siders’s repeated mentions of the “cornfield”, this burn barrel is directly in front of SA’s 's trailer so it’s a wonder it wasn’t “discovered” on sooner, say on the 5th or 6th.]
I approached the burning barrel and looked inside…I observed some burnt, melted plastic items. As I looked closer at the plastic item, it appeared to me to be a cell phone. I…noted there was an "M" emblem on the front of it. It appeared to be the emblem for a Motorola 5 brand cell phone...I showed Sgt. Senglaub these items, he called the team leader, Deputy M. Bushman, over to look at the items. Deputy Bushman observed the remains of what appeared to be a cell phone…contacted the OIC and informed him we had some items that needed to be looked at by Dets. We were informed that the DCI would be en route to our location to check out the items. [Based on DCI Heimerl’s testimony it was he and Sielehr]
The DCI did arrive at our location. [Heimerl and Sielehr signed in at Avery property at 8am out at 8:26am then returned at 9:40am, out ??, in at 10:08am, out ??, in at 12:02pm, out at 1:42pm so this must have been in the 10am time frame.]
They also believed that this was a cell phone. As they looked through the burning, the DCI informed me that they believed there were parts to a camera in there. The DCI informed Sgt. Senglaub and me (Deputy Siders) that they would take custody of the burning barrel. After the DCl took custody of the burning barrel, Sgt. Senglaub and I continued our search of the property. [Siders and Senglaub signed out at 12:30pm]
What happened to team leader Deputy Bushman? [This was Bushman’s day: signed in at 7:38am with Todd Hermann, out at ??, in at 12:50pm, out at ??, in at 4:15pm, out at 4:45pm, in at ??, out at 5:33pm]
According to DEDERING Report (CASO p.137) by 10:35am retired MTSO Deputy Inspector MICHAEL BUSHMAN had discovered at possible burial site at Kuss Rd, which tied up he, other CASO officers and other DCI most of the afternoon.
Who were the CASO officers with these of MTSO deputies during the cell phone barrel discovery? There were 24 CASO officers signed in during the time frame the barrel was found. [Also on the property--Ryan Hillegas and Scott Bloedorn in at 9:03am, out at 9:53am.]
Not only does Siders fail to mention which CASO officers were on his team, not one CASO officer writes a report on the cell phone barrel discovery. The first mention of it is in BALDWIN's Report (CASO p. 135):
At approximately 1:15pm, I was requested to standby the garbage bum barrel at STEVEN AVERY's house until evidence technicians arrived on scene I did standby with this until approximately 3:39pm, when the barrel was recovered by CALUMET CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT. Deputy KEN MATUSZAK.
November 7th was Bushman's only day on Avery property during the 9-day search, but it sure was a productive one!
Why the hell is a retired deputy the team leader for LEO. In the CASO report, Dedering, and I believe Tyson too, refer to him as retired, but leading a group of volunteers?
https://www.reddit.com/r/TickTockManitowoc/comments/4ktalm/retired_dep_bushman_was_group_leader_of_the_mtso/
Kuss Rd and the 2017 Investigation
By Jaiddie, MakingaMurderer
I'm curious about the fact that Dedering questioned Bobby Dassey about Kuss Rd in his 2017 interview, tbh. If Kuss Rd was just a peat moss mistake (as LE would have everyone believe, yet it took them MANY officers and hours to investigate for some reason), then why does it have any importance to be questioning witnesses about so many years later? I can't think of any reasonable reason why LE are NOW asking questions about that area if nothing was found there as they said and they didn't even find it important enough to question witnesses about back THEN, when the original investigation was taking place?
https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/99s3o0/kuss_rd_and_the_2017_investigation/
HIT-AND-RUN DEATH OF 17-YEAR-OLD BOY REMAINS AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY
By John Ferak, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
September 16, 2016
"What it's going to take to solve the thing would just be luck at this point."
MANITOWOC - The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, which has been accused of framing Steven Avery for a 1985 rape and planting numerous clues to convict Avery for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, has also been dogged by allegations it mishandled the 1999 hit-and-run death of a 17-year-old boy, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has learned.
The homicide of Ricky Hochstetler, who was struck by a vehicle while walking to his home along a frontage road, remains unsolved. The crime occurred at about 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 10, 1999 during a snowstorm.
Weeks after the boy's death, a number of sheriff's department employees began to suspect that an off-duty deputy — after a night of drinking — struck and killed the rural Manitowoc teenager.
Even the traffic patrol lieutenant who was in charge of the investigation was aware of the allegations, indicate reports reviewed by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. However, both Lt. Mike Bushman and then-Sheriff Tom Kocourek's administration declined to probe the activities of the two deputies who were being mentioned as possible suspects — Lt. Rob Hermann and his brother, Sgt. Todd Hermann.
Rob Hermann is now the sheriff of Manitowoc County.
Hermann denies wrongdoing
It was only through the persistence of Debi Hochstetler, Ricky's mother, that the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation agreed to independently review the case. By then, the crime had already gone unsolved for five years. The Division of Criminal Investigation would twice launch a criminal investigation of Rob Hermann, first in 2004, and again in 2009. At the time he was questioned in 2004, Rob Hermann was the under-sheriff/inspector for Sheriff Ken Petersen.
"Inspector Hermann stated that this was not the first time he had heard about the rumors of his alleged involvement in the accident," Division of Criminal Investigation reports revealed. "Inspector Hermann stated that he was not involved in the accident, nor did he have any knowledge about who might be responsible."
Hermann, 52, is now in his 10th year as sheriff. He acknowledged that the Division of Criminal Investigation interviewed him several years ago, but maintained he had nothing to do with the crime.
"There were rumors that were false," Hermann told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin recently. "It was really nothing. ... I don't really know where it came from."
According to Hermann, it "makes no sense" to suggest that he may have been involved in the hit-and-run fatality because "I'm the one who responded to the accident."
The veteran sheriff also dismissed allegations that his younger brother, Todd, may have been involved in the crime.
“We're not even looking at that. Those were rumors posted on a website.”
ROB HERMANN
When reached on his work cellphone by USA TODAY NETWORK, Todd Hermann declined to comment. The 49-year-old Cleveland, Wis., resident directed all questions about the case to Rob Hermann. After his brother was elected sheriff, Todd Hermann was promoted to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department's deputy inspector of operations, the third-highest position in the department.
Rob Hermann said there was no sheriff's department cover-up surrounding Hochstetler's death.
"There is no evidence to even indicate that," he said. "We're not even looking at that. Those were rumors posted on a website."
A tragic death
On Jan. 9, 1999, the parking lot at the Club Bil-Mar banquet hall was full. Copps Grocery Store and Manitowoc Ice were holding holiday parties for their employees and special guests at the well-known supper club along Manitowoc County CR, on the southern edge of Manitowoc.
By 2 a.m., Hochstetler was walking home after watching movies and eating pizza with friends. A fierce snowstorm was underway.
While making his normal rounds during his overnight patrols, Bushman saw Hochstetler's fresh footprints in the snow along the shoulder of the rural county highway. According to Division of Criminal Investigation reports, Bushman later told special agents that "he was going to check on the condition of the person to make sure they were OK considering the snowstorm. Deputy Inspector Bushman decided to get gas first before following the footprints in the snow ..."
About 2:20 a.m., just down the darkened road from the Bil-Mar, a vehicle barreled into the 6-foot-2, 218-pound former high school football player. The driver fled the scene, heading south of Manitowoc.
At about 2:25 a.m., a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel delivery driver came upon the body, and she called 911.
Bushman, the night-shift patrol commander, heard about the hit-and-run pedestrian collision on his squad car radio while at the gas pumps about a mile away. He arrived on the scene at 2:28 a.m. Hochstetler's body was in the middle of the road.
Bushman decided to preserve the death scene rather than chase after the fleeing driver, the Division of Criminal Investigation report stated.
At about 4 a.m., Bushman and Deb Kakatsch, the Manitowoc County coroner, walked 50 yards down the road. They knocked at the door of a small white farmhouse, waking Debi Hochstetler, a mother of three in the midst of a divorce.
A sea of bright flashing lights greeted her. The idling vehicles were operated by Newton's volunteer fire and rescue squad. The others were from the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and Manitowoc City Police Department.
Her oldest child and only son, age 17, had suffered a skull fracture, brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, neck fractures, broken bones in his back, and internal and leg injuries.
Debi Hochstetler was devastated.
This circle shows the hit and run driver's path of travel after striking Ricky Hochstetler south of Manitowoc. Around Newton, the culprit likely turned west.
"He loved his rap, his Green Bay Packers and he loved his football trading cards," she said. "He was a very comical guy once you got to know him."
It became apparent that the fleeing motorist knew the back roads of Manitowoc County. Three miles south of the deadly crash site was Interstate 43, but rather than taking 43 toward Green Bay or Sheboygan, the driver remained on the country roads.
The damaged vehicle passed a swath of farmland and encountered no traffic during the driver's getaway.
A source of suspicion
The Bil-Mar social hall was an obvious place to start the homicide investigation, but little, if any, progress was made by Manitowoc sheriff's deputies.
On Sunday, Jan. 10, 1999, a pair of deputies interviewed two of the Saturday night bartenders. Summaries of the interviews contained in the sheriff department's case file were only a couple lines each — even though one bartender, Alvin Mrozinski of rural Cato, said he drove past the victim minutes before the teen was struck and killed.
The other bartender's name wasn't mentioned in the deputy's report because "he could offer no information."
Two days later, Ken Petersen, undersheriff at the time, assured the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter that the hit-and-run driver had not been drinking at the popular club. "I don't know if the person could have gotten up to a speed that would have caused that kind of injury to the victim or damage to the vehicle," Petersen told the newspaper.
In January 1999, Manitowoc County Under-Sheriff Ken Petersen assured the press that teenage pedestrian Ricky Hochstetler could not have been killed while walking home on County CR by a vehicle leaving the Club Bil-Mar, a popular banquet hall.
The front entrance to the Bil-Mar was close to a quarter-mile from the Hochstetler tragedy.
Although the high-profile crime became the talk of the town, Kocourek decided not to seek help from the Wisconsin State Patrol's technical crash-scene reconstruction experts. And the Division of Criminal Investigation wasn't asked to help, either.
Kocourek did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.
Before the autopsy — and prior to any daylight searches in ditches and along adjacent roads for more broken vehicle parts — Rob Hermann, Manitowoc County's juvenile jail administrator at the time, set a course that would later prove unsuccessful in finding the person who killed Hochstetler.
"I determined the vehicle would have to have a gray painted grill, being a model year from 1985-1988," Hermann stated in his reports. "This vehicle ... would include Chevrolet pick-up, Chevrolet K5 Blazer and Chevrolet Suburban."
Weeks later, after conferring with Hermann, Bushman also alerted the media that the broken grill fragments may also be from a 1988 to 1991 full-size van.
But over the past 17 years, no van, truck, Suburban or Blazer was ever located.
Whispers of a cover-up
As the hit-and-run investigation floundered in 1999, Bushman continued to hear whispers suggesting Hochstetler's death was part of a sheriff's department cover-up.
Bushman's investigative reports show he raised the issue of a cover-up during a face-to-face interview with Rick Wetenkamp, a rural Newton resident, who had been the hit-and-run victim's stepfather. By that point, the homicide had been unsolved for 11 months.
"I decided to question him about a statement he made ... reference the opinion that the police may have been involved in the accident and are attempting to cover it up," Bushman wrote in his report. "I wished to catch what type of reaction this would bring."
It was evident from Bushman's report that he did not want the victim's stepfather believing that police corruption might be the root cause for the lack of an arrest.
“What it's going to take to solve the thing would just be luck at this point.”
KENNETH PETERSEN
"I stated to (him) that there are over 300 complaints that I worked on and many turned out to be just rumors like the one for example that the police were somehow involved in the incident and were intentionally covering it up," Bushman stated.
According to Bushman's report, the victim's stepfather looked away and muttered, "Yes, I heard that rumor myself."
Bushman sensed his interview technique was working, according to his report. He had put the victim's stepfather on the defensive by bringing up the notion of a police cover-up. "The desired response was received and the redness (in his face) indicating he was embarrassed at that point indicating he, himself, had been the source of that type of rumor," Bushman wrote.
Key personnel moves
Months later, in 2000, there was a changing of the guard. Kocourek retired and Petersen took over as sheriff.
Petersen elevated Rob Hermann to under-sheriff/inspector.
Bushman was promoted to third in command, supervising the road patrol division and the detectives bureau. That bureau included James Lenk, the same detective who was later accused of planting Avery's blood and a spare key during the 2005 Halbach murder case.
Under Lenk's leadership, little progress was made in bringing Hochstetler's killer to justice, and Petersen's administration wasn't optimistic about an arrest.
"What it's going to take to solve the thing would just be luck at this point," Petersen told The Associated Press in January 2002. "I doubt if that truck exists anymore, especially in any kind of evidentiary form."
But not everyone at the sheriff's department shared Petersen's pessimism about solving the high-profile homicide. A former sheriff's employee confirmed resigning from the department, disgusted by what the employee felt was a shoddy investigation.
Sources with ties to the Hochstetler investigation told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that it was evident Bushman and Rob Hermann had compromised critical evidence recovered at the scene of the crime, jeopardizing the prospects of a criminal prosecution.
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin learned that under Bushman's direction, broken vehicle parts deposited at the scene along County Highway CR were not properly tagged, logged, photographed with a ruler, videotaped or placed into secured evidence by a trained evidence technician. At the sheriff's department, Bushman kept debris from the vehicular homicide inside an unsecured cabinet that other employees could access.
In addition, Bushman and Rob Hermann violated fundamental chain of custody standards for handling crime scene evidence, sources said.
At the scene, Bushman allowed Hermann to transport several small pieces of the broken grill in one of Hermann's personal vehicles. Hermann had permission to drive around with the evidence for several hours with no supervision. Hermann wrote in his report that he canvassed several auto dealerships and local businesses with the broken grill pieces in his possession.
In January of 2016, Debi Hochstetler met with Manitowoc County Sheriff's officers Lt. Andrew Colborn and Deputy Inspector Larry Ledvina.
Critical trace evidence — perhaps paint chips or clothing fibers — were likely lost or compromised by their careless handling, police officials and national forensics experts told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
Their conduct, said one police official, would warrant an unpaid suspension and possibly dismissal from a reputable law enforcement agency that held professional standards.
"You can get fired for that stuff. That piece of evidence might not as well exist," said Brent Turvey, forensic scientist from Forensic Solutions in Alaska. "You have made that evidence have less value or no value at all."
The irregular evidence collection at the Hochstetler death scene also raises questions about whether pieces were tampered with or possibly swapped, Turvey said.
"Legitimate law enforcement agencies develop these protocols for a reason," Turvey told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "It's all reputation and if (Manitowoc County) had a good reputation, you don't have to defend it. Because of their bad reputation and continually bad decisions, it's a lifestyle. It's not a mistake. It's who they are."
“…You don't take parts from a crime scene home with you because you don't know who's going to potentially become a suspect.”
BRENT TURVEY
Bushman, who retired in 2005, told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin during a recent interview that it was his understanding that Rob Hermann drove the vehicle parts from the hit-and-run crash back to his family's "boneyard" in nearby Cleveland.
Hermann had also worked as an auto body repair technician and mechanic at Cleveland Auto Sales & Salvage.
Given the fact that Hermann had access to his family's salvage yard business, Turvey said, "I think that makes it even worse. You don't take parts from a crime scene home with you because you don't know who's going to potentially become a suspect."
Bushman said he never investigated Rob Hermann and Todd Hermann as potential suspects. He said he was convinced the brothers did not own the type of truck, van, Blazer or Suburban being sought in the boy's death.
Bushman insisted that neither he nor Rob Hermann mishandled the crime-scene evidence. He also dismissed allegations of a police cover-up. He suggested that a news story examining problems with evidence or flaws in the case would do nothing to help solve Hochstetler's homicide.
"I did the best I could under the circumstances," Bushman said, his voice rising during the phone interview. "I did the best I could on this complaint. You say cover up? Find a witness for me. You can grab any police report and tear it to pieces."
Looking back, Rob Hermann said he had no criticisms of Bushman's performance on the Hochstetler case.
"I think he did well. He was always a go-getter," the sheriff said.
State probe focuses on investigation's flaws
This past April, for the first time, Debi Hochstetler filed a request seeking access to any reports the Division of Criminal Investigation did on her son's case. In July, she received a stack of 40 investigative documents in the mail. Reports show that Special Agent Eric Szatkowski considered it his primary duty during his initial probe to "make suggestions as to additional leads and or resources that could be utilized to help resolve this incident."
To a lesser extent, back in 2004, Szatkowski explored the credibility of allegations that an off-duty sheriff's deputy might be the culprit. The victim's mother had suggested that Bushman "might fear some type of reprisal or professional retaliation from (Rob Hermann) if the matter was taken seriously," Szatkowski stated.
For the past 17 years, Debi Hochstetler has dealt with nagging suspicions that an off-duty Manitowoc County Sheriff's deputy struck and killed her teenage son as he walked home on Jan. 10, 1999.
On Aug. 11, 2004, Szatkowski interviewed Hermann at the undersheriff's office. "Szatkowski informed Inspector Hermann that his name had been associated with rumors in the Manitowoc area that he might be involved in the hit-and-run death of Richard Hochstetler," Division of Criminal Investigation reports show.
Hermann told the Division of Criminal Investigation agent he was home sleeping when he was awakened "somewhere around 3 a.m." by a phone call from work.
"Inspector Hermann said he was called into work on the case, possibly by Deputy Michael Bushman because Inspector Hermann was experienced in accident reconstruction," Division of Criminal Investigation reports show.
According to the Division of Criminal Investigation, Hermann said he drove his 1998 Chevrolet truck to the scene after having stayed home the entire night with his live-in girlfriend and their small child. "Inspector Hermann stated that he never owned a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle, specifically a Chevrolet truck or van manufactured between 1985 and 1988," Szatkowski stated.
“I did the best I could on this complaint. You say cover up? Find a witness for me! You can grab any police report and tear it to pieces.”
A month later, the special agent from the Division of Criminal Investigation closed his probe, noting that "a DOT vehicle history check on all the Hermann brothers showed no vehicles matching the 1985-1988 make and model that struck Hochstetler. ..."
Five years later, in July 2009, the Division of Criminal Investigation reopened its investigation of Rob Hermann, the state agency's reports reflect. By then, Hermann was Manitowoc's sheriff.
"The caller wanted to remain anonymous and would provide no information on the source of the allegations other than the individuals who provided the information were high school friends of the suspect that did not want to get involved in the investigation and did not know the caller was providing information to authorities," the late Division of Criminal Investigation Craig Klyve wrote in his report.
According to Klyve's report, "the caller said that Robert Hermann had an early- to mid-1980s Chevy pickup truck that has not been seen since the time of the accident. The caller believes this vehicle was the one that struck and (killed) Ricky Hochstetler."
Three months later, the Division of Criminal Investigation traveled to Two Rivers to interview Laura (King) Lee, the former live-in girlfriend of Hermann, who was also the mother of his child. Lee worked as a school counselor and was a reserve part-time deputy with the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department.
Lee told the pair of Division of Criminal Investigation investigators, Szatkowski and Michael Hoell, that she didn't remember whether Hermann was awakened around 3 a.m. by a phone call alerting him to respond to the Hochstetler fatality. At the time of Lee's interview, it was now more than a decade after the tragedy. Days later, in late October 2009, the Division of Criminal Investigation's probe came to a halt. Dennis Hebert, president of the Club Bil-Mar banquet hall, told Szatkowski that the club no longer had any records showing who the Bil-Mar's guests were on the night of the Hochstetler tragedy.
Lee, the former girlfriend, had suggested the Division of Criminal Investigation ask whether Rob Hermann was at the popular social hall on the night in question.
THE HOCHSTETLER INVESTIGATION: A 3-PART SERIES
On Jan. 10, 1999, high school student Ricky Hochstetler was killed along a dark county highway in rural Manitowoc while walking home from a friend's house. The hit-and-run driver was never caught. The investigation has been marred by long-standing suspicions of a Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department cover-up.
This year, Manitowoc County's most high-profile cold case has drawn renewed interest, particularly from "Making a Murderer" viewers; many of the same Manitowoc sheriff's officials who were involved in the 1985 and 2005 convictions of Steven Avery also had roles in the Hochstetler unsolved homicide.
During the past eight months, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has investigated the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department's handling of the hit-and-run homicide. We inspected close to 1,000 pages of reports generated by either Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department or the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Current Manitowoc County Sheriff Rob Hermann was investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation as a suspect while he served as an undersheriff/inspector, state reports show.
Part 1: Suspicions of a cover-up: Within weeks of Ricky Hochstetler's death, several employees at the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department start to suspect that an off-duty deputy may be the hit-and-run driver.
Part 2: Mistake-riddled homicide probe: Though broken parts from a newer style car were discovered in the thawing snow near the site of Ricky Hochstetler's hit-and-run fatality, ex-Sheriff Tom Kocourek's administration dismissed the evidence, insisting that an older model truck or van was involved.
Part 3: Mother wants to forgive her son's killer: After 17½ years of heartache, Debi Hochstetler longs for the truth regarding her son's hit-and-run homicide.
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/12/manitowoc-sheriff-under-fire-1999-homicide/80862938/
[–]Alien_Evidence_Tech
Late in early January 1999, there was a rumoured MTSO function at the Bil-Mar. A banquet hall that handles weddings and parties, etc. Important to note, there was a main hall, and a bar area.
Late that night, 230AM a motorist reported a deceased boy (Ricky Hochstetler) on the road.
Hermann (who would later be Sheriff) was called to the scene as a 'auto-expert', he claimed later this case was 'career making' even though it was unsolved. The problem is he says he was called to the scene between 1:30-2:30, but the accident hadn't been reported until 2:30.
Was he called there earlier because an MTSO Sheriff (Kocourek) was the person driving? Some people have implied this in online posts.
Worth noting Bushman was in charge of the case and it went unsolved. Bushman also came out of retirement to help with the Avery case.
AND, someone local claimed that Kocourek's deceased sister had told him personally this was all true. This is an alleged claim mind you. But the person who reportedly made it, stated the cops told him there was no MTSO party at Bil-Mar that night, that it was a COPPS grocery store party instead. Many people from the area have been told the same thing. The problem is that it was apparently common knowledge MTSO was there that night.
And even if not, did they not check every single person that was there. It's the closest place for a drunk driver to have come from that night.
The poster who made these claims online, also stated that Kocourek's late sister told him that indeed it was Kocourek. And he had the body work done at this dealership by someone named Nick. Notice the name of the VP [Dale Kocourek] who's been second in charge in that company for 20 years: http://www.pietroske.com/Staff.
MsMinxster
@MsMinxster
Bushman=Kocourek's favorite little helper:
'85 PB case
'99 RH case
'05 TH case@johnferak @Jbuting #MakingAMurderer
John Ferak
@johnferak
Part 1: Manitowoc sheriff under fire in 1999 homicide http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2016/09/12/manitowoc-sheriff-under-fire-1999-homicide/80862938/
Sep 12, 2016
Key moments from Petersen's sworn testimony of Oct. 13, 2005:
On the night of July 29, 1985, Sheriff Tom Kocourek ordered Petersen, then a patrol sergeant, to arrest Avery for the brutal attack on Penny Beerntsen.
"As the shift commander, I would have enlisted the help of other patrol officers. I contacted James Froelich and Mike Bushman and then I make a call to Arland Avery to make sure Steve still lived where I thought he lived. And Arland had some concerns so he asked us if we'd meet at his house and talk to him. So we did, and Arland expressed concern that if Steve resisted ... somebody would get hurt and he asked if I would let him come along so that he could try and talk to Steve so that, you know, everything would go smoothly."
Petersen testified he decided there was no need to investigative his agency's role in botching the Avery rape case that put an innocent man in prison for 18 years.
"None of the people that were involved in the case in the investigative part were there."
On how often Petersen's former boss, Sheriff Tom Kocourek, put himself in charge of solving a crime besides the botched Avery rape case.
"There were just a few times, no more than three ... Normally, if I was to compare himself to myself, I wouldn't be involved."
On his meeting with two detectives the day after Avery's DNA exoneration and release from prison.
"I believe both Andy Colborn and James Lenk came to my office and the same time. (Colborn) said when he was working in the jail, he had received a phone call I believe from a detective in Brown County that he had a suspect who said that he had assaulted a person in Manitowoc County and somebody else was in prison. And that's about it. He said he referred it to a detective and heard nothing of it after that."
As the incoming sheriff, Petersen was alerted by Kocourek to a letter being kept in a small safe that helped validate Avery's wrongful rape conviction.
"There was a letter from some inmate from Brown County Correctional I believe that went in there. I don't know who, but he said that Steve (Avery) admitted to the crime, and I know the sheriff had left that when he left office. There's a small safe in his former office that would have had that."
MsMinxster
@MsMinxster
Who's Who in RickyH case? MTSO's Dirtiest:
Kocourek
Petersen
Hermanns
Bushman
Lenk
Colborn
Remiker
http://post.cr/2cTZWks #MakingAMurderer
5:39 PM - Sep 14, 2016
Mike Bushman played football with Calumet County Coroner Mike Klaeser.
[–]Nexious
Manitowoc County Coroner Debra Kakatsch's office (which also included a forensic anthropologist and forensic pathologist) had no connection at all to any of Avery's litigation from 1985 through present. Nobody in her department had to ever take depositions; none of them were listed to any capacity in his civil lawsuit--they were completely neutral parties.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff Department invested 744 hours on the Halbach case during the first month alone "to provide resources" to Calumet. This is equivalent to five full-time MTSO employees spending every working hour on the case (assuming at least 36+ hours per week, per person). MTPD/MTSO were logged entering/leaving the property hundreds of times in November.
Even random civilians and Halbach associates like Ryan Hillegas were allowed entrance to the crime scene after the fact. Yet the county coroner and her office were instructed not to investigate, against state statute.
Worse yet is that all of the investigators who were allowed on the scene, including those from MTSO, failed to take even a single photograph of the bones before tampering with them and removing them completely from the alleged scene. This is incompetence at its absolute worst.
Overview
On March 8, 2007, long-time Manitowoc County Coroner and former chief deputy Debra Kakatsch was called to the stand by Strang. After brief introductory remarks, the state objected to her testimony and a hearing commenced outside the presence of the jury.
The defense argued that her testimony was pertinent in showing that the recovery and assessment of the bones was flawed as she and her colleagues were prohibited from entering the scene. This was an unprecedented and highly unusual move and one that went against state statutes and the lawful duties of the coroner.
The prosecution contended that Manitowoc County Coroner Debra Kakatsch was barred from entering the crime scene at the Avery property due to the perceived "conflict of interest" of her being a Manitowoc official -- this despite the fact that she had no direct or indirect affiliation with any Avery litigation, unlike the majority of Manitowoc officials who continued working overtime on the case and entering his property repeatedly. They also cited inadequate foresight of her as a witness and lack of discovery as to why she shouldn't be allowed on the stand.
The judge sided with the prosecution, claiming that he didn't see any "probative value" in letting her testify and that it had "much more potential to mislead the jury." The judge further proclaimed that he couldn't see how, if she had investigated the crime scene, this would had made the investigation "any less biased" than without her services.
Below is a summary of these circumstances (taken chiefly from the Day 19 trial transcript):
Kakatsch's Credentials
Chief deputy from 1991-1992 and county coroner from 1993-2007.
Previous experience and licenses in nursing, chemotherapy, emergency room and intensive care.
Had specialized coroner-related training on anthropology, autopsies and DNA analysis.
Certified as a forensic nurse, with additional certifications in Homeland Security (American College of Forensic Examiners).
Member of the Wisconsin Coroners Medical Examiners Association, Forensic Nurses Association, Homicide Investigators Association (former).
Specializes in Wisconsin death investigations including homicides and found bodies.
Her specific daily duty is to determine the manner of death and issue death certificates.
The Teresa Halbach Case
Kakatsch learned of the suspected human bones from watching television.
This type of death, by state statute, should had triggered the coroner's involvement.
Her deputy coroners contacted her to ask about the case after seeing it on television.
She immediately contacted a fellow forensic anthropologist and forensic pathologist and advised them they've got work to do at the scene as part of a death investigation.
After 2-3 calls to Mark Wiegert November 9 wondering why she hadn't been called to the scene yet, he said he would have to check, then said her services weren't needed.
Days after the bone discovery/removal, Dan Fischer (County Executive of Manitowoc County) also told her not to push being involved as there was a conflict of interest.
Kakatsch disagreed with Fischer's stance; it was highly unusual to get a call from the County Executive at all.
Later she received another call from Steven Rollins (Manitowoc County Corporation Counsel) to likewise advise that she should not be involved because of this purported conflict of interest.
Kakatsch observed this strong resistance by various officials when attempting to investigate the bones and protested by explaining how she had no involvement what-so-ever in the civil lawsuit or other Avery litigation, nor did her office as a whole (no deposition, no interviews by either side, nothing).
Kakatsch was ultimately not allowed to enter the scene to assess the apparent human remains and manner of death.
Dr. Doug Kelly (forensic pathologist) and Patrick Schoebel (forensic anthropologist) also did not report to the scene.
Kakatsch, in an act of good faith, then contacted Mike Klaeser (Calumet County Medical Examiner) to have him fulfill the bare obligations of the coroner since she was told not to.
Mike Klaeser is the one who eventually signed the death certificate etc. Mike never testified in court about his involvement, but did appear on Nancy Grace's show post-MaM in protest of the series ("I think the right people are behind bars.")
Prosecution's Argument
They received no advanced knowledge of her testimony.
She said she wasn't aware that she would be called as a witness as of January 19, 2007.
They did not receive any discovery documents relating to her testimony.
Manitowoc counsel "wanted to remove all Manitowoc County officials" from the investigation to avoid any appearance of "conflict of interest." According to Gahn, this was "a prudent, wise move on their part" to prevent involvement of the Manitowoc coroner.
Gahn speculated that she was, perhaps, "some disgruntled Manitowoc County employee who didn't like that decision."
They don't see any relevance at all to her testimony in connection with the case.
The probative value of her testimony would be so low it'd be outweighed by prejudice it may cause and would be a waste of time to the jury.
Defense's Argument
Her name was always on their witness list, timely filed.
They never had any documents from Kakatsch to hand over, thus no discovery.
She is not an expert witness, but merely a fact-based witness.
The prosecution could had interviewed her just as the defense did.
Sure, it would had been prudent to remove all Manitowoc County officials from the investigation, but obviously that wasn't done at all with the Sheriff's Department.
Unlike the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, Kakatsch nor anyone in the coroner's office had any prior involvement in the Avery civil case, nor had any responsibilities for the 1985 crime.
Her office alone, among the Manitowoc County law enforcement offices, was walled off entirely from performing legal and lawful duties in connection with the discovery of human remains.
Her testimony goes directly to the investigative bias of preferring involvement of certain Manitowoc officials and not other Manitowoc officials, even when they had state statutory duties to perform.
If there was any 904.03 concern, it'd be that of the prosecution turning to a Milwaukee County Medical Examiner a year after Halbach's death, who had no involvement at the scene, to determine manner of death and examine the bone fragments (rather than appointing the local official who's job it is to do just that at the time of the discovery).
The testimony goes directly to the issue of consistency and inconsistency that show a particular bias; the jury is entitled to see it and rule upon it themselves.
There's also probative value in showing that a forensic anthropologist could had been there at the scene and involved in the recovery, had the law officers followed the usual lawful routine of notifying the county coroner upon discovery of suspected human remains.
Judge's Ruling
This may have relevance in relation to a turf war, but no probative value in this case.
Presenting this testimony has much more potential to mislead the jury.
I don't see how anything the coroner would have done would have contributed to a less biased investigation in this matter.
I've already given the defense quite a bit of latitude by allowing reference to the civil lawsuit and Lenk/Colborn.
The court has (already) granted the defendants adequate means to make the point as it relates to bias.
This witness has nothing to do with the Sheriff's Department.
I fail to see any measurable probative value and the state's objection is well taken.
If the reason that the coroner was told to stay off the case was because of fear of a conflict, the probative value of such evidence is very great.
I'm worried about creating confusion for the jury by allowing it; the court has allowed the defense to present a great deal of evidence with regard to the bias issue.
To further involve the coroner is too dangerous to confuse issues when weight against the probative value.
I am not going to allow her testimony.
Related:Who is this coroner who already KNEW his services would be needed? They already planned to use a diff coroner B4 a body was found? Keep listening it’s after the Zander stuff#MakingAMurderer https://t.co/gRNA6LbhL7— 7 pairs-of-panties (@7pairsofpanties) August 14, 2018
- Undersheriff Hermann Somehow Was a Huge Player in the Teresa Halbach Case
- County Board Chairman, City Police Chief Defend Tarnished Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office
- Avery's Cases Related to a Secret Club of the 'Good Ole Boys'
- Manitowoc County Board supervisors vote to increase their own pay
ILoveGittaBanditta wrote at TickTockManitowoc one year ago:
·
Manitowoc suicides reach all-time high
http://www.htrnews.com/story/news/local/2015/09/18/manitowoc-suicides/72421858/
Wow
I was held and beaten with brass knuckles 1982 by JL because MA gave him fake paper work on MCSD stationery that I had talked about him !!!
I don't even need to see anything more.
Add it up.
Beat, shot, fake busts, arrested for Perjury, Examined for competency.
This is the same problem that we had with MA before Re-monkey.
He created a group of people that were not drug related but for minor infractions of the law, then he convinced the DA and courts they were Kingpins!!!
And then dealt drugs in the bars and around 5 counties using real Kingpins and addicts, and protection of them to keep the money rolling in !!!
He destroyed at least 100 lives in the 12 or so of his reign.
Just seeing his name evoked a wave of panic attacks !!!
I'm one of the fake Kingpins whose life was messed with !!!
Governor D wiped my records clean before leaving office, probably so I couldn't sue the State of Wisconsin.
Manitowoc death squad Developed by MA.
I have rescued one person, now a vegetable in a home, PF.
The sequence of events in my life get jumbled up, PTSD from getting shot in the head.
Motorcycle gang's member of the Immortals = JJ
On October 22nd, 1992 MA gave a special 25 caliber mercury filled, brass jacketed dumb dumb bullet to JJ and paid him $25,000 to take me to a sink hole in Cleveland, Wisconsin and SHOOT ME IN THE HEAD IN THE SINK HOLE. I got that bullet to the State crime lab !!! And JJ appealed his conviction, saying he was employed by the police.
Ten years before, MA was strutting around in gestapo type long black leather jacket and gloves with a big fat cigar jammed in his mouth, terrorizing ordinary people he had turned into criminals in the eyes of the courts, while killing and dealing drugs with motorcycle gangs, using the D.A.R.E. program to work along side the real CRIMINAL ELEMENTS OF MANITOWOC AND SURROUNDING AREAS TO COMMIT TRUE EVIL !!!!!
No, SG was trying to expose corruption in the MCSD and against TK, especially, when he got beat by police and smeared in the papers !!! When he boldly wouldn't shut up he was fake suicide:
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/htrnews/obituary.aspx?pid=180607938
Corruption runs deep and wide. MA isn't spoken about or referred to very much in MAM discussion circles. Make no mistake, he should be.
https://www.wicourts.gov/ca/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=8556
FederalesEsMuyMuyInteligente
MA = Mark Anderson
JL = James Lenk
Re-monkey = Remiker
JJ = James Jacobson
SG = Steven Walter Grimm
TK = Tom Kocourek
@RenyRoha @CarlaGa71590460— Zellner Chess (@ZellnerCrimeLaw) May 16, 2019
Mark also arranged a failed murder of Dale Scheley by a hitman. Hitman shot him in the head in the woods & he survived. Hitman went to jail and Mark Anderson #ScottFree #MaM #MakingAMurderer #WakeUpWisconsin #WorkWithKZ pic.twitter.com/09doYBe9K7
"On 10/22/92 Mark Anderson gave a special 25 caliber mercury filled, brass jacketed dumb dumb bullet to James Jacobson and paid him $25,000 to take me to a sink hole in Cleveland, WI and SHOOT ME IN THE HEAD." [u]ILoveGittaBandittahttps://t.co/zCrHgl0dnf— Lick The Knife (@RenyRoha) May 20, 2019
