Forensic Files - Season 7, Episode 11 - A Clutch of Witnesses - Full Episode | Forensic Files

NARRATOR: Two eyewitnesses said they saw a man in a pickup truck deliberately run over another man-- not
once, but twice. Police could not find the victim's body, or the pickup truck. And when police tried to talk to the two eyewitnesses,
they had disappeared, too. All police could find were some blood stains in the snow.
But would this be enough to prove murder? [theme music] On January 29, 2001, a member of a motorcycle gang in Duluth,
Minnesota called police to report his roommate, 27-year-old Erik Schrieffer, missing.
He said he hadn't seen Schrieffer for the last four days, and he was worried. -Usually that doesn't happen.
People that report missing persons usually call in within the first six to eight hours in a panic.
-Well great. I appreciate your assistance. Have a good day. NARRATOR: Officer Ryan Temple was assigned to the case.
-Hi, this is Officer-- RYAN TEMPLE: I attempted to contact all the area hospitals,
all the county jails in the area, the Duluth Detoxification Center. Also tried to contact the victim's family--
his mother, his father. Also, his employer. NARRATOR: No one had heard from Erik Schrieffer.
He worked as an apprentice for the Boilermakers Union 647. -Erik was very quiet and reserved.
Very good performance on the job site. NARRATOR: But he hadn't been to work, either.
Police found Schrieffer's three automobiles still in his driveway. His wallet and winter coat were inside his house.
Police discovered that Schrieffer was last seen at a party in a motorcycle club house.
Two motorcycle club members who were at that party, Charlie Johnson and Herbert Zingle, said that Schrieffer
got into an altercation with Joseph Wehmanen, a member of a rival motorcycle club.
-Who stuck you? [crashing and yelling] -Son of a bitch! [glass breaking] -What's up?
Jesus! -What the fuck, man? Screw him. Take it outside. NARRATOR: The two were separated and escorted outside--
-Get off me, man! -It's all right. Just calm down. NARRATOR: -- where The witnesses say Wehmanen easily won the fight.
While Schrieffer was still on the ground, Wehmanen did the unthinkable. He got into his truck, started the engine,
and intentionally ran over Schrieffer. Amazingly, he wasn't killed. Wehmanen then put his truck in reverse,
and ran over him a second time. Fearing for their own safety, the witnesses ran back inside.
When they looked out again, both the truck and Schrieffer were gone. -There was something more to this story
than just a missing person. NARRATOR: The witness is admitted they were drinking heavily that night,
and weren't sure of all the details. And the alleged fight took place almost a week earlier.
And the inclement weather complicated the investigation. -There was a four day time lapse,
and we had received approximately eight inches of slushy snow on-- in between time.
It made it a very difficult crime scene. There was-- once we got there, there wasn't a whole lot to see, to start with.
NARRATOR: When police looked into Joseph Wehmanen's background, they discovered he had
never been in trouble with the law. He was an ex-Marine, who had served during the Gulf War,
and was a member of the Thunderbird motorcycle gang, although not an active member.
Investigators needed to find some forensic evidence to corroborate the witnesses' story.
Police wanted to find some way to verify the claims of two eyewitnesses that Erik Schrieffer was run over twice
by Joseph Wehmanen in his truck. -From the very beginning, we had to try and put the case
together to understand exactly what had happened, and then attempt to try and locate where, possibly,
the body had gone to after that period of time. So initially we were trying to put the puzzle together
before we could find out where the body may have gone to. NARRATOR: Police set up a command post in the alley
where the fight allegedly took place. Working in subzero temperatures, officers uncovered the top layer of new snow
in order to search for blood. They were successful. They discovered a blood trail that led from the alley all
the way to the end of a parking area, nearly 80 yards away. At the end of the trail, police found
one very large pool of blood in the snow. -Due to the amount of blood that we found in that one spot,
and the fact that there was no blood after that as we continued to excavate the snow past that point,
we believe the body was loaded into the truck. NARRATOR: Medical examiner Dr. Donald
Kundel was called to the scene. -A person, to produce that much blood in one localized area,
had to still have their heart beating. They may have suffered serious injuries, but their heart had to still be beating in order
to produce that much blood coming from a wound. NARRATOR: Once the heart stops beating,
a body no longer bleeds. The blood evidence suggested that the victim was lodged
under the truck, and was dragged 80 yards. The pool of blood at the end of the trail
indicated the victim was still alive, and had been picked up from the snow. However, Doctor Kundel told police
that without immediate medical attention, the victim would have died within four hours.
To collect the blood evidence, police used a standard coffee filter to separate the blood from the snow.
The filter trapped the red and white blood cells, and allowed plasma and melting snow to drip
through, just as the filter traps coffee grounds, not allowing them to drip into the coffee.
Without a body, police had another problem-- how to tell whether this was the blood of Erik Schrieffer.
But police got a break. They learned that Schrieffer had undergone hand surgery a few years earlier, when he had accidentally shot himself.
The hospital saved Schrieffer's tissue sample that had been sent to the pathology lab for analysis.
The tissue was preserved in paraffin, which halts the degenerative process, preserving
the tissue indefinitely. The blood DNA found in the snow was compared to the DNA from Schrieffer's tissue sample.
It matched. Police canvassed area hospitals, health clinics, and doctors' offices.
No one with the type of injuries Schrieffer would have sustained had been treated.
Convinced that Erik Schrieffer could not have survived without treatment, the medical examiner
signed a death certificate. -Yes, we do have a homicide, and one of the worst types
for a detective to have-- a homicide without a body. NARRATOR: The next step was for police
to speak with the driver of the truck, Joseph Wehmanen. But he was uncooperative.
-He started to shut the door on me. At that point, I reached over and grabbed him
by the shirt, informed him that he was under arrest for murder. NARRATOR: Police impounded Wehmanen's vehicle.
But a forensic analysis found no evidence of an accident. They found no trace of blood, body fluids, or hair anywhere
on the trunk, or underneath. -The crime lab is well-respected by law enforcement agencies in this state.
They've got the best equipment, the most sophisticated gear. And if they couldn't find any evidence in the truck,
then you started wondering, well how could that be? How could somebody drive a truck over somebody
twice, and there's no hair, no blood, nothing? And that didn't seem right to me.
NARRATOR: The lack of forensic evidence wasn't the only problem. Witnesses' credibility was another.
During police questioning, both witnesses admitted they were inebriated at the time
of the alleged accident. One said, quote, "I don't remember who was at the house, who came back.
We were sitting there drinking. I know there was people in and out. Like I say, I'm drunk.
I stay drunk as I can." And Joseph Wehmanen maintained his innocence. With two inebriated eyewitnesses,
no forensic evidence in Wehmanen's truck, and no body to prove there had been a murder,
prosecutors knew they didn't have enough evidence to go to trial. Investigators needed more evidence in the Erik Schrieffer
case, and the search for his body intensified. Police decided to find out how their prime suspect, Joseph
Wehmanen, spent his leisure time, and with whom? -I came across one of his friends
and asked, when's the last time you spent time with Wehmanen? Where was that that he spent the time with him?
And it'd come to be that within the week previous, he was ice fishing with this friend.
NARRATOR: Police had a general description of the ice house that Wehmanen and his friend used,
but they weren't sure where it was located on the vast Saint Louis River. Nevertheless, police were assigned to search the area.
SCOTT CAMPBELL: He came across an ice house. We weren't quite sure whether it was the one
that we were necessary looking for. But as he was looking into the ice house, he found a hole that was larger than your normal ice fishing
hole, probably the size of one that a human could be slipped into. NARRATOR: An underwater dive team searched the frigid waters
of the Saint Louis River for Schrieffer's body. Conditions were miserable. It was snowing with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour.
Divers could stay under the freezing water for only 30 to 45 minutes before suffering hypothermia.
After days of searching, they found nothing. Then investigators got more bad news.
Their case against Wehmanen was based almost entirely on the testimony of two eyewitnesses who claimed they
saw a fight between Schrieffer and Wehmanen. But when police went to question them further,
the two had vanished. SCOTT CAMPBELL: We have actually documented testimony from family members of the two witnesses
that the Thunderbirds were approached by the Hells Angels, an in turn approached the two witnesses
and asked them to leave the community. Downright threatened them. NARRATOR: With no body, no forensic evidence
against Wehmanen, and now, no witnesses, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the case.
The prosecution was in a difficult position. -All the while, too, we're looking for the body.
And we're looking for some more physical evidence to tie Joe Wehmanen into this.
We were convinced that he was the person responsible for the death, but he wasn't saying anything.
The more police thought about Wehmanen's truck and the eyewitness testimony, the more they
realized how unlikely it was that the undercarriage of his truck would be so clean, especially
in the middle of winter. In the words of investigators, it was almost too clean.
So nearly six months after the murder, they examined the truck once again. -We decided we would take the truck apart piece by piece
until we were satisfied that there was no evidence to be found, or we actually found evidence.
And that's what we did. -We had a belief all along that if the truck was used in transport of the body, there always
has to be some type of forensic evidence that's left behind. Or in any kind of crime scene-- I strongly believe
that there's always forensic evidence that's left behind in any crime scene. NARRATOR: They hoisted Wehmanen's truck
up on a rack in the police garage, and bolt by bolt, they took the truck apart. -I think I used the analogy in one of my stories--
it was like they were cutting their lawn with tweezers. They went over that vehicle inch by inch.
NARRATOR: For over two days, police searched every inch of the vehicle. Finally, they found their first piece of evidence--
a single strand of human hair that was attached to the front spring of the truck.
And when they removed the top covering of the truck's cargo area, they found several small blood stains in the crevices.
Police now suspected that Wehmanen power sprayed his truck after the murder, and the water pushed the victim's
blood into the tiny crevices between the sheets of metal. But scientists still needed to find out
who the blood and hair belonged to. When police found blood stains and a strand of hair
in the undercarriage of Joseph Wehmanen's truck, they promptly informed Wehmanen's attorney
that they would be sending the materials for forensic testing. -Once the state could tie the body to Mr. Wehmanen's truck,
the case changed dramatically. And I talked to Joe, and I told him so. Ultimately it comes down to the old Kenny Rogers song.
You've got to know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em. And I felt it was-- when they found that blood in the truck,
it was time to fold 'em. NARRATOR: Without even waiting for the results of the forensic testing, Wehmanen
agreed to lead police to Schrieffer's body in return for a reduced charge of unintentional second degree
murder. The prosecution agreed, and Wehmanen confessed. -It's my opinion that this forensic evidence
was so powerful that Mr. Wehmanen knew what the outcome would be when we sent it to the lab,
and just decided to plead guilty. NARRATOR: In Wehmanen's taped confession, his version differed from the eyewitnesses'.
Wehmanen admitted running over Schrieffer in the alley, but said it was an accident.
He also said he didn't realize Schrieffer was stuck under the truck until he reached the end of the parking lot.
Wehmanen said he put Schrieffer in the back of his truck, and dumped him into the river the next day.
He said the police had searched the correct spot in the Saint Louis River, but the body may have drifted.
When the divers returned for a second search, they still couldn't find the body.
A few weeks later, after the plea agreement was signed, Schrieffer's body surfaced by itself
on the Wisconsin side of the river. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death
was blunt force trauma to the head. In Wehmanen's mother's garage, police found a cinder block.
Its size and shape were consistent with Schrieffer's head injury. Wehmanen didn't deny striking Schrieffer
in the head with the block, but said he did it after Schrieffer was already dead.
Prosecutors were skeptical. MARK RUBIN: He says he hit him with a block when he was wrapping up his body at his mother's garage,
and hit him with a block of cement just out of frustration, expressing anger at Erik Schrieffer
for having caused him to do this. Doesn't make a lot of sense. NARRATOR: Because of the plea agreement,
Joseph Wehmanen was sentenced to 12 and 1/2 years in prison for Erik Schrieffer's death.
He'll be eligible for parole after eight years. -12 years in prison for a murder where you drive your vehicle
over a body one time, then back over it again, if the witnesses are to be believed--
to me, that's not justice. -The family wanted us to make some type of negotiation,
compromise on the amount of time, in return for recovery of the body. And I remember even telling Erik's mom and dad and brother
that Joe Wehmanen is not going to get what he deserves for what he did to Erik. I made that very clear to them.
And that's what I even told the court at sentencing. But we were willing to make a compromise in order
to recover the body and put the case behind. NARRATOR: The other reason for the deal
was the disappearance of the two eyewitnesses. They are still missing to this day.
-I hope they are OK. I hope nothing has happened to them. And if we could find out who is responsible for their
disappearance, for their being conveniently absent at a time when we needed them, for us having to reduce
the charge for murder in the second degree intentional murder down to unintentional, we want to know.
Then there'll be a little bit of finality to this case. NARRATOR: The case was solved by forensic evidence
Wehmanen couldn't power wash away. Wehmanen knew that the blood found in the metal crevices
and the single strand of hair were Schrieffer's, and that forensic testing would prove it.
-I strongly believe that there's always forensic evidence that's left behind in any crime scene.
It's just a matter of your human eye picking up and looking in certain places, and using the current technologies
to locate that forensic evidence. -Forensic science was remarkable, because without the police department going
that extra distance and finding that evidence in the truck, in the tailgate and the undercarriage,
without the medical examiner finding that blood sample with the matching DNA at the end of that alley,
we would have been out of luck. [theme music]

Two eyewitnesses may hold the key to the death of a motorcycle gang member.

Forensic Files is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Evidence and interviews with experts help solve real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world.

Brief Summary

Erik Schrieffer went missing after being run over by Joseph Wehmanen, leading to a complex investigation and eventual plea deal.

Key points

Eyewitnesses Disappear. Two key witnesses vanish, complicating the investigation into Erik Schrieffer's disappearance.
Confession and Plea Deal. Wehmanen confesses to running over Schrieffer, leading to a plea deal for reduced charges.
Forensic Breakthrough. A single strand of hair and blood stains found in Wehmanen's truck lead to a confession.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

There was something more to this story than just a missing person.

Narrator hinting at deeper issues in the case.

4:21WatchDec 10, 2021

Tension

70/ 100High tension

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