John Andrews trial, Day 2: Witness says defendant ran over Starkie Swenson with his car
CHILTON – Witness Suzanne Eggert testified Thursday that she overheard a verbal and physical confrontation between John Andrews and another man – later believed to be Starkie Swenson – on Aug. 13, 1983, on the grounds of Shattuck Junior High School in Neenah.
Eggert was driving by with her windows open and heard the rev of a car engine, a man's scream, a large thump and pieces of metal moving across the pavement. She said she heard Andrews say, "There, now you're dead. How do you like that?"
She had dated Andrews and recognized his voice and English accent. She drove to get a better view and saw Andrews leaning into the trunk of his car.
Shortly thereafter Eggert had lunch with Andrews and saw a cut and blood on his hand. He told her he had nearly knocked off the muffler on his car by driving over a curb and onto grass.
"I knew what he was talking about," Eggert said "He was talking about the night he ran over Starkie. It was obvious."
Eggert's testimony came on the second day of the Calumet County jury trial of Andrews, 84, of Chilton, who is charged with obstructing an officer for his June 7, 2021, interaction with police in which he denied ever seeing or talking to Swenson in person.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Swenson, 67, of Neenah went missing after leaving his home on a bicycle on Aug. 13, 1983, and his body wasn't found until September 2021 when hikers, by happenstance, came upon his remains in a partially secluded area of High Cliff State Park in Sherwood.
In between, in March 1994, Andrews was tried on a charge of first-degree murder for Swenson's death. Police alleged Andrews became enraged over Swenson's extramarital affair with his ex-wife, Claire Andrews, and ran him over with his Pontiac Firebird on the grounds of Shattuck school.
The 1994 trial ended after four days when Andrews entered an Alford plea and was convicted of a lesser charge of homicide by negligent use of a vehicle. He was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000.
An Alford plea allows for a defendant to be convicted and sentenced while proclaiming innocence.
John Andrews trial, Day 1: DA says defendant was last to see Starkie Swenson alive
More: Timeline of major events in the death and disappearance of Starkie Swenson
Eggert contradicts Andrews' 2021 statement to police
Eggert told the jury she believes Andrews saw and talked to Swenson on Aug. 13, 1983, contrary to Andrews' 2021 statement to police that he never saw or spoke to Swenson in person.
"I'm 100% sure he was there" at Shattuck, Eggert said.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Catherine White pointed out discrepancies between Eggert's testimony and her past testimony in the case.
Eggert said she distrusted police and withheld information about what she heard and saw in 1983 until nearly 10 years later because Andrews had threatened to harm her and her children if she revealed more.
"I was trying to save my life," she said.
Claire Andrews says Swenson was 'the love of my life'
Claire Andrews, now 92, was the woman at the center of the love triangle. She testified that Swenson was "the love of my life" and that her ex-husband, John Andrews, was jealous of her affair with Swenson.
She said Andrews was at her house on Aug. 13, 1983, and became upset and angry when he realized Swenson might be coming to see her that night. She said Andrews previously threatened to burn down her house because of her relationship with Swenson.
Richard Maskel, Claire's son, testified that the affair between his mother and Swenson contributed to her divorce from Robert Maskel in 1979.
Swenson's daughters knew of love triangle and directed police toward Andrews
Swenson's daughters Jan Coakley and Linda Swenson testified they were aware of their father's longstanding extramarital affair with Claire Andrews.
After Swenson didn't return home on Aug. 13, 1983, Coakley reported her father as missing and advised Neenah police to focus their investigation on John Andrews.
Her father previously had told her "John Andrews was making phone calls threatening him," Coakley said.
Witnesses recall interaction with Andrews after Swenson's disappearance
Stacia Herrling and Darlene Jeske testified that they asked Andrews to help change a tire at an apartment complex in Appleton the day after Swenson disappeared.
Herrling said Andrews was cleaning the inside of his car at the time and appeared nervous and "hyperaware" of his surroundings. He agreed to help and then offered that he was cleaning his car because he had been hauling chickens.
"You got a cute little sports car, and you’re hauling chickens?" Herrling said. “A little bit odd, so it stood out in our minds."
Neither Herrling nor Jeske noticed damage to Andrews' sports car.
Custodian recalls finding damaged bicycle at Shattuck
Carl Staffeld, a former head custodian at Shattuck, testified he found an older bicycle that "looked like it was run over" on the school grounds on Aug. 15, 1983.
He also discovered tire tracks in a grassy courtyard that led to and from a pine tree that was damaged and noticed gouge marks on the sidewalk and parking lot.
At the time, he didn't know Swenson was missing and threw the bicycle in a garbage truck.
Defense attorney says he will move to dismiss the case
At the end of the day's testimony and outside the jury's presence, defense attorney Jonas Bednarek told the court he will file a motion to dismiss the case due to double jeopardy.
"I feel strongly that this man is being retried for a homicide that he's already been tried for," Bednarek said.
Earlier in the day Bednarek raised a similar issue, arguing the obstructing charge was "a shell game for a homicide trial."
The U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment contains a double jeopardy clause that prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for substantially the same crime.
District Attorney Nathan Haberman disputed that double jeopardy was involved. He acknowledged the two cases are based on many of the same facts but said the charges are distinct.
"Just because evidence has been used in one trial doesn't mean evidence can't ever be used again," Haberman said.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Witness testifies John Andrews ran over Starkie Swenson with his car
