Douglass Detrie, arrested in connection with the death of Nicole VanderHeyden, has been released from the Brown County jail due to lack of evidence.
Brown County District Attorney Dave Lasee asked for Detrie's release today inside a packed courtroom, saying there was not enough evidence against Detrie at this time to file criminal charges.
"Based on the information that we have at this point in time, I don't believe that holding him longer when he's been held already for three weeks is the correct course of action to take," Lasee explained.
Detrie was being held on a $1 million bond following the discovery of VanderHeyden's body in Bellevue in May. The court originally found probable cause against him on May 25th, but that was vacated on Friday.
"Our office will not issue charges unless we're comfortable that at the present time we have enough information to prove someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, so that's the reason why we're not issuing charges here [Friday]," Lasee explained.
There are no bail conditions, according to Detrie's lawyer Emily Lonergan.
"He's not under any restrictions, but he certainly doesn't plan on getting out of the area," Lonergan said. "He wants to remain in the area and see that justice is done."
Detrie and his lawyers are maintaining his innocence.
The investigation is ongoing, and the Brown County Sheriff's Office issued the following statement today regarding that investigation:
"We are working closely with the District Attorney's Office as we investigate this case. This is a complex investigation. Evidence recovered from multiple locations is being examined by the Wisconsin State Grime Labs. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab has prioritized this case and we are working closely with them to obtain useful information from the evidence.
We do not have lab results for most of the items we have collected in this investigation. The analysis of this quantity of evidence will take more time. We expect to be able to focus our investigation in the weeks ahead as we receive results from the crime lab.
The Brown County Sheriff's Office has and wil! continue to devote considerable resources toward this investigation. We are investigating all leads with the purpose of holding the perpetrator accountable and seeking justice for Nicole, her family and friends."
