The Murder of Lauren DeWise and Attempted Murder of Ashley Van Hemert
For this case I watched an episode of The Murder Tapes. It’s season 5 episode 3, titled ‘Footprints in the Snow.’
One woman is found dead in her home, and her roommate is critically injured, but survives.
Background
Lauren Walder DeWise was married, but separated to a man named Joseph Paul DeWise, who went by Paul. They had moved from Florida to Bozeman, Montana. They had a daughter together, and Paul had two kids from a previous relationship.
In 2017, Lauren moved in with two roommates, Audria and Ashley. According to Paul, the separation was hard on him, but not on Lauren. It was very clear from the beginning that Lauren and Paul had a tumultuous relationship.
Lauren DeWise and Ashley Van Hemert
The Crime Scene
On January 7, 2018, a man called 911 around 9:30am. He said that his neighbor Audria, had come over to report that her roommates had been shot. Audria is heard in the background, and the man says that one roommate is definitely dead, and the other is bleeding badly.
When the police arrived, they were met by Audria, who was outside. Audria said she was staying with a friend last night, and came home to see that her back door had been kicked in. She also said she saw footprints in the snow, and found her roommates in their bedrooms. Lauren was dead, and Ashley was critically injured.
The police went inside the home, and could immediately hear Ashley calling for help. Once they cleared the scene, the police found Lauren lying on her bed, she had been shot multiple times.
Ashley was lying on the floor of her room. Ashley said to the police “please don’t shoot me.” The body cam footage of Ashley is pretty terrifying, she’s clearly in shock, and begs the police not to hurt her. The police asked her if she knew who did this, and it’s obvious that Ashley doesn’t know what’s going on. She had been shot in the back of the head, and a few more times to various parts of her body. The police carried Ashley down to the ambulance, and she was taken to the hospital.
Ashley’s Story
The police were receiving updates about Ashley’s condition. The hospital finally let them know that Ashley had pulled through, and that they could interview her.
The police ask Ashley if she remembered anything. She said no, she barely remembered waking up in the hospital. The police asked her what she did the previous day. Ashley said she went out with her boyfriend Ralph, and that he dropped her off later that night. Ashley said the last thing she remembers was kissing Ralph, and walking into her home.
The police went back to the crime scene, and collected several shell casings from a small caliber pistol. They also took shoe impressions from the footprints in the snow. The footprints went from the front of the home to the backdoor.
The Husband
The police didn’t know if Lauren or Ashley was the intended target, but after talking to Ashley’s boyfriend Ralph, they determined it was probably Lauren.
Paul was brought in for questioning after they pulled him over in a traffic stop. The police told him that the reason he was there was because there were issues at Lauren’s home. Paul asks what happened, and they said that someone broke into the home. Paul asks if she’s okay, and the police told him that Lauren had been shot and was killed.
The police asked Paul about the separation. He said it was easy for her, but hard on him. He appeared to be emotional about it, and told the police that he was trying to reconcile with her.
Paul was then asked to go over his timeline from the previous day. He said he didn’t do much during the day, but went out to buy beer around midnight. He said his son went with him, and then he went to bed around 2am.
Paul’s phone was seized, but he was released.
Joe Jr.’s Story
Paul’s son Joe, was brought in for questioning. His face was blurred out in this episode because of his age. He had been 15 at the time of the murder.
The police asked him what his relationship with Lauren was like. He said they were close, and that the breakup was really hard on him.
The police asked the son what he did the previous day. He said that they didn’t really do much during the day, but that he went with his dad to buy beer around midnight. They asked him if he and his dad were really close, and he said yes. The interview then ended, and he was released.
A Tumultuous Relationship
After getting the results back from the crime lab, the police discovered that there were two sets of footprints in the snow. One set of footprints was smaller than the other. The police needed to bring Paul’s son Joe back in for questioning.
This time, his mom was with him, and he continued with his story from the previous interview. The police could tell he wasn’t telling them everything.
Jeremy Kopp, the undersheriff of the Gallatin County sheriff’s office, told the son that he needed to tell them the truth. Joe finally broke and said that he didn’t have a choice. He said his dad made him go with him, and he was afraid for himself and his sisters.
The police asked him how far he go into the house, and he said he was in the living room, and heard the gunshots. He said he looked at his dad, and said “what the hell did you do?” After he told them this information, his mom broke down and sobbed.
On Paul’s phone, the police found text messages and audio recordings. On the recordings, Paul can be heard telling Lauren that he’s going to kill her. Paul continues to call her names, and says that he did everything for her. Lauren can be heard trying to reason with Paul, but he obviously blames her for their marriage ending.
Lauren and Paul were supposed to sign divorce papers on January 7. Lauren had made it very clear to everyone that she and Paul would not be reconciling. It’s clear that the motive was anger and ‘if I can’t you, no one can.’
The Trial and Conviciton
Paul went on trial in December 2018.
Several people including Audria testified that Paul was abusive to Lauren, and that she had seen injuries on Lauren before.
Paul’s kids also testified. Paul’s son Joe said that his dad made them wear gloves and face masks, which is something that was not stated in the episode. Joe said that the gun that was used was one that he recognized from seeing Paul shoot before. Paul made Joe get rid of the gun, shower and to tell anyone who asked that they were home all night watching tv.
Paul’s daughter Natalie, said that Paul was violent, and told her that he had killed Lauren. Natalie also said that Paul wanted Joe to take the blame for shooting Lauren.
The most powerful testimony came from Ashley. She was asked about being shot, and about what she actually remembers. Ashley let the court know where she was shot, and that she had to learn how to do several things again. She said:
“I’ve had to learn to live with only the use of my right hand and arm so I’ve had to learn to dress all over again.”
Paul was found guilty of deliberate homicide, attempted deliberate homicide and using a firearm. He was sentenced to 220 years in prison.
Joe was never charged.
Joseph Paul DeWise
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, it’s safe to say Paul does not win father or husband of the year. In fact, he’s a piece of shit who deserves to rot for 220 years. He was pissed that Lauren was finally going to leave him, and he forced his 15 YEAR OLD SON to help him, get rid of evidence and lie for him. I feel so sorry for Lauren’s family, the kids and Ashley.
Ashley is a bad ass, and a survivor. She constantly talked about how God is the reason she is still living. She said she continues to go to therapy, and is finally living on her own again. I admire her strength and determination, and I hope she is living her best life.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/lauren-dewise-murder-where-is-joseph-dewise-now/
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/judge-sentences-bozeman-man-for-murder
