Obstructing charge against John Andrews heads to trial as he denies any contact with Starkie Swenson
CHILTON - A three-day jury trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 6 to determine whether John C. Andrews obstructed an officer during a 2021 investigation into the whereabouts of Starkie Swenson's remains.
The charge is a misdemeanor, but is tied to the high-profile Neenah homicide case against Andrews.
Calumet County District Attorney Nathan Haberman has identified 16 witnesses who might be called to testify at the trial.
Swenson, 67, vanished on Aug. 13, 1983, after leaving his Neenah home on a bicycle. More than 38 years passed before his remains were discovered, by happenstance, by hikers at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood.
In 1994, Andrews was tried on a charge of first-degree murder for Swenson's death, even though Swenson's body hadn't been found. 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 Junior High School in Neenah.
The trial ended after four days when Andrews accepted a negotiated Alford plea and was convicted of a lesser charge of homicide by negligent use of a vehicle. Andrews 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. It means the defendant decided it would be better to be sentenced on the lesser charge than take a chance with the jury on the initial charge, which could lead to a longer sentence.
Police renew search for Swenson's remains after property changes hands
Police renewed their search for Swenson's remains at a property near Omro after the property changed hands in 2019. Investigators were assisted by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh anthropology associate professor Jordan Karsten and his students, who systematically excavated the site to search for any bone or tooth fragments.
The search came up empty but led police to question Andrews in June 2021 about Swenson's whereabouts. Andrews not only denied any knowledge of Swenson's whereabouts, but he also denied ever seeing or speaking to Swenson in person.
The jury must decide whether Andrews, now 84 and living in Chilton, was telling the truth.
"To answer that question will essentially require a redo of the homicide trial that occurred in the early 1990s," Andrews' attorneys Jonas Bednarek and Catherine White said in a court document. "If Mr. Andrews killed Mr. Swenson on the night of August 13, 1983, as the State has long suspected, then he lied to the police about never seeing Mr. Swenson in person. But if Mr. Andrews did not kill Mr. Swenson, as he has consistently maintained, then he did not lie to the police and is not guilty of obstruction."
What led to the obstruction charge against Andrews?
After the discover of Swenson's remains at High Cliff State Park, Haberman charged Andrews with hiding a corpse, a felony. The case was dismissed by Judge Carey Reed, who ruled that Andrews' denial of knowing the whereabouts of Swenson's remains when questioned by police didn't constitute hiding a corpse as defined by state law, but it might rise to probable cause for obstructing an officer.
Haberman subsequently charged Andrews with obstructing. Haberman indicated Suzanne Eggert will testify that she heard Andrews and Swenson talking on Aug. 13, 1983, during an encounter at Shattuck Junior High School, which contradicts Andrews' statement that he never saw or spoke to Swenson in person.
"His obstructionist actions deprived the family closure and the opportunity to mourn the loss of a loved one," Haberman said in a court document.
Andrews pleaded not guilty and is free on a $500 signature bond. If convicted, the charge carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.
More: Timeline of major events in the death and disappearance of Starkie Swenson
Judge denies motion for change of venue
Andrews' attorneys filed a motion for a change of venue, an unusual step in a misdemeanor case. They stated in court documents that three decades of media coverage of Andrews' alleged role in Swenson's death and disappearance have created a community prejudice against Andrews.
"Because inflammatory publicity has so saturated the community, obtaining a fair and impartial jury in Calumet County or the surrounding counties will be a practical impossibility," Bednarek and White said.
Haberman disagreed. "The media coverage exists," he said, "but I don't think it's been to the level that would taint the entire county."
Reed denied the motion.
District 2 Court of Appeals declines to intervene
Andrews' attorneys filed two motions to dismiss the case — one contending Andrews' 1994 plea prevents further prosecution and one claiming improper prosecution. Reed denied both motions.
"The instant case is not about the homicide, but rather about the location of the remains," Reed said.
The attorneys asked for reconsideration, and Reed confirmed his rulings. They appealed the rulings to the District 2 Court of Appeals, but the appellate court declined to intervene.
Defense objects to prosecution's expert witnesses
Haberman disclosed that he intends to call several expert witnesses to testify, including Elizabeth O'Bannon, an analyst at DNA Solutions Inc., and Adam Covach, chief medical examiner for Fond du Lac County.
DNA Solutions matched the remains to Swenson. Covach determined Swenson died from multiple injuries and that the injuries were consistent with him being run over on his bicycle by a vehicle.
Andrews' defense team sought to exclude O'Bannon and Covach from testifying, but the effort was denied by Reed.
Andrews also waived his right to a jury trial, opting for a bench trial, but Haberman didn't follow suit, leaving the jury trial in place.
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: Misdemeanor charge against 84-year-old John Andrews heads to trial
