The McClintock Park Murders is the focus of this episode of Bloodline Detectives, airing on True Crime on Wednesday, 25 September 2024, at 10 pm. This documentary series centres on familial DNA investigation, a groundbreaking technique that uses genetic material from relatives to identify suspects and solve violent crimes.
In 1976, a young couple, David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys, were brutally murdered while camping at McClintock Park campground in Silver Cliff, Wisconsin. The case remained a mystery for decades, leaving the community shaken. Decades later, in 2019, police made a breakthrough by employing genetic genealogy to identify the suspect, 82-year-old former Marine Raymand Vannieuwenhoven.
Vannieuwenhoven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The trial revealed that Schuldes was shot in the neck, while Matheys endured sexual assault before being shot twice. Despite Vannieuwenhoven’s claims of innocence, a Marinette County jury found him guilty, resulting in two life sentences.
Bloodline Detectives: The McClintock Park Murders airs Wednesday, 25 September 2024, at 10.00 pm on True Crime.
