DeWild Case Arrests Bring Up Bad Memories For Victim's Sister
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - A Jefferson County woman is "feeling like there's some justice" after the arrests this week of three people in the death of her sister eight years ago.
Jennifer Springer says she and her sister Heather DeWild were planning to go on a trip together in 2003 before she was murdered.
"I miss her a lot," Springer told CBS4. "(The arrests) bring up all the memories of when it originally happened and how hard it was when we realized she wasn't coming back."
A grand jury indicted Daniel DeWild, David DeWild and Roseanne DeWild on murder charges on Dec. 9 and all three were arrested this week. They each appeared in court for the first time on Thursday.
DeWild was 30 when she was reported missing in the middle of the summer after she went to her estranged husband Daniel DeWild's home at 2031 Fenton in Edgewater. Her decomposed body was discovered about 6 weeks later in a shallow grave off Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon.
Police said DeWild's neck and wrist were tied up and her body was wrapped in trash bags.
The grand jury indictment states that the trio killed Heather DeWild and then worked together to cover the crime up. It also states that a witness saw the three suspects trying to dump a body and Heather's vehicle near where the body was later found.
New technology also confirmed suspicious cell phone activity between the three when Heather disappeared.
Daniel DeWild was married to Heather but lived with David, his his twin brother, and Roseanne -- Daniel's girlfriend then and now his wife -- at the time Heather disappeared. The couple was scheduled to have their final divorce hearing the week after.
Springer said she and other members of Heather's side of the family feel that the arrests "put questions and suspicions to bed," but so far they are being cautious about making their reactions public.
"It remains to be seen what actually comes of this. Our personal opinions -- we want to keep that to ourself," she said.
Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey told CBS4 on Thursday morning outside the courtroom that the case has been a priority since he took office in 2005.
"As time went on I decided to devote one of our investigators full time to this case," Storey said. "It has taken that long to where we're in court today."
Each of the suspects faces charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They are all being held on $1 million cash bond. The judge said Thursday that bonds could be reduced at some point, but he would wait until attorneys were assigned to the DeWilds before such a change would be considered.
The suspects will return to court next week and will be assigned public defenders. It is then expected that pre-trial hearings will begin by mid January.
