The Murders of Shanna and Diederik Vandewege

Written By Kiley Baumgartner

For this case, I watched an episode of American Monster. It’s season 10 episode 9, titled ‘Daddy’s the Best.’

A woman and her 3-month-old son are found dead in their home.

Background

Shanna Riddle was born on June 4, 1980, and grew up in Colorado. Shanna had always wanted to become a mother and a registered nurse.

Shanna met her future husband, Craig Vandewege around November 2012. Shanna was excited because Craig seemed financially stable and they got along really well. They took trips together and he bought her things.

Craig proposed to Shanna in October 2013. They got married on May 18, 2014.

The Move

In May 2016, Craig got a new job opportunity with his job at Costco. He and Shanna moved to Fort Worth, Texas.

After several miscarriages, Shanna became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Diedrik on September 5, 2016.

Shanna’s family didn’t see the excitement in Craig about becoming a father. Craig became erratic. He would work, play video games and drink. Shanna cooked, cleaned, and took care of Diedrik.

Craig and Shanna didn’t sleep in the same bed due to Shanna having to wake up to feed Diedrik. Craig paid more attention to his dogs and would let them sleep in the same bed as him.

Shanna, Craig and Diedrik

The Murders

On December 15, 2016, Craig called 911 around 9:30 pm. He said he just came home from work and found his wife and child dead. He said his wife was in bed and his child in his bassinet.

The dispatcher asked Craig how he knew that they were dead. He said he noticed that there was blood in the neck area. It sounded like he was attempting to cry on the phone.

At 9:50 pm, Shanna and Diedrik were pronounced dead. They both had extremely deep-cut wounds to their necks.

According to Craig’s 911 call, he made it seem like a burglar had broken into their house during the day. Craig said that he had been at work. The burglar had been in the process of robbing the house and decided to kill Shanna and Diedrik.

All of the cabinets and drawers had been pulled out in the kitchen. Shanna’s purse was found undisturbed. No murder weapon was found, but there was a closet full of guns inside the house.

Craig’s Story

On December 16, 2016, Craig was interviewed at the police station.

Craig said he didn’t know of anyone who’d want to hurt his family. He said Shanna was kind and sweet to everyone. Craig showed absolutely no emotion.

Craig said he had a normal day and had to be at work by 11 am. Craig said both Shanna and D.J. were sleeping when he left. He said he arrived at work late around 11:40 am.

The police ran through his story one more time. This time, he said Shanna woke up, said I love you, and kissed him goodbye.

Craig was asked about his relationship with Shanna. He said that she had been learning to cook better lately, which was “really really awesome.” He did admit that they had issues with money and were trying to get their credit card bills down. Craig did take out life insurance policies on both Shanna and Diedrik. He said it was about $5,000 or $6,000 on Diedrik and about $130,000 on Shanna. The police realized that Craig had been lying. He had recently increased his life insurance policies. They totaled about $718,000.

At first, Craig seemed willing to let the police search his phone. However, he asked when he would get it back. Once the police left the interrogation room, Craig fell asleep.

The Evidence

A latex glove was found in the center console of Craig’s car. There appeared to be staining on the glove, and it was sent in for testing.

The police did a search of Craig’s phone. His phone had been used to access different dating apps. He had been in contact with an ex-girlfriend of his. In one conversation, he asked his ex-girlfriend if she was going to let him have her one last time. He told her that he was thinking about divorcing Shanna and wanted to serve her divorce papers.

The police interviewed Craig’s work colleagues. Craig had told several people that he needed to drink to self-medicate and wanted to try to get out of his marriage. He was also vocal about becoming a rich man due to the life insurance policies.

On the day of the murders, Craig was 45 minutes late to work. He parked under a camera to prove that he had never left Costco. He left work that evening and arrived at his house at 9:29 pm. He then called 911.

The medical examiner believed that Craig and Diedrik were most likely killed before Craig left for work.

The Arrest

On December 19, 2016, Craig was interviewed again. He was asked to take a polygraph test. Craig was furious that he was being interviewed and was lured there by the police. He claimed that he had been told that he would be getting his phone back. Craig walked out of the interrogation room and ended the interview.

On December 21, 2016, a stranger approached an employee at a 7-Eleven in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The man walked in and said the government was after him. He also said he was being framed for killing his family. The employee called 911.

The man drove away, so the police followed. He was driving a car without license plates. It was Craig, and he was arrested. He was extradited back to Ft. Worth, Texas.

The police found a visible AR-15 and two more guns in the car when Craig was arrested. Craig was charged with 2 counts of capital murder.

The Conviction

Craig’s DNA was found inside the glove. Diedrik’s DNA was found on it as well.

Craig’s trial began on October 18, 2021. He pled not guilty.

It’s believed that Craig had stayed up all night drinking and decided to kill his family. He cleaned himself up, which was why he was late to work.

Craig was found guilty of capital murder. He was sentenced to life without parole.

Craig Vandewege

Kiley Baumgartner
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