A bill that would change the time limit for prosecuting someone charged with hiding a corpse has passed the Wisconsin Legislature.
The bill authored by 3rd District Representative Ron Tusler of Harrison would end a statute that says a person cannot be charged with hiding a body if it’s been hidden for more than six years if someone was killed.
The bill would change the statute where the six-year period starts when the body is found, not when the person died.
Tusler says this comes from the Calumet County case of Starkie Swenson, who died after being hit by John Andrews’ vehicle.
Swenson’s body was then hidden at High Cliff State Park.
However, the Harrison Republican says it took nine years to find Swenson’s remains, and Andrews was not charged right away.
“They weren’t comfortable charging him,” he stated. “But nine years later, they eventually did. They charged him, and he (Andrews) agreed that he did it; he plead guilty and said that he pleaded to vehicular homicide. For vehicular homicide, John Andrews got two years in prison.”
Andrews served his sentence and was released from prison.
Tusler explains that Calumet County District Attorney Nathan Haberman wanted to charge the now 86-year-old with hiding a corpse.
But a judge denied the charges because of the six-year statute, which Tusler called a mistake that he wants to fix.
“When we vote in favor of this, think about Starkie Swenson,” he explained. “This is the last little thing that anybody can do for him. And he got murdered, and his murderer only got two years. Because of our Ex post facto laws, we can’t make a law and punish somebody in the past. This bill won’t apply to John Andrews, but it will apply in the future.”
Tusler’s office tells Seehafernews.com that because the bill has passed both chambers, the bill can be sent to Governor Tony Evers’ desk for it to be possibly signed into law.
