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Sheriff's Dept. asks for public's help

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The Brown County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in the Nicole VanderHeyden homicide case.

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who may have seen or had contact with Nicole D. VanderHeyden or Douglass R. Detrie on the night of Friday May 20, 2016 or the morning of Saturday May 21, 2016 to please contact the Brown County Sheriff's Office Investigative Division. 

Anyone who has information is asked to contact Sgt. Brian Slinger at (920) 448-4404 or Slinger_br@co.brown.wi.us.

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Douglass Detrie is now facing a first degree intentional homicide charge for the death of his girlfriend Nicole VanderHeyden. The 34-year-old is being held on a $1 million cash bond after appearing in a probable cause hearing in Brown County Court Wednesday.

VanderHeyden's body was found in field in Bellevue Saturday, about three miles from her home on Berkley Road in Ledgeview. The Brown County Sheriff's Department arrested Detrie Monday evening after finding blood in the home the couple shared.

District Attorney David Lasee says investigators also found more stains in a car and pattern on VanderHeyden's body that matched a pair of tennis shoes Detrie owned.

The Judge has ordered Detrie have no contact with the VanderHeyden family or the six month old baby he fathered with the victim.

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UPDATE: The suspect is 34-year-old Douglass Detrie.

He has not been formally charged.

He is expected in Brown County court Wednesday afternoon.

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Investigators have identified the body found in a field in the Village of Bellevue Saturday afternoon.

 

The Brown Co. Sheriff's Department has also made an arrest tonight regarding the ongoing homicide investigation.

 

According to Brown Co. Sheriff Captain David Konrath, the body has been identified as 31-year-old Nicole VanderHeyden, of Ledgeview.

 

Konrath also says they've arrested a 34-year-old man investigators say is VanderHeyden's boyfriend. The suspect is facing formal charges of 1st Degree Intentional Homicide.

 

At 7 p.m. Monday, police were called to a Ledgeview neighborhood--specifically along Berkley Road--where blood was discovered near the suspect's home. 

 

Investigators will not say, specifically, where the blood was discovered, or whether it belongs to VanderHeyden at this time. 

 

"We have to do some presumptive tests, obviously, before we can make any sort of conclusion," says Konrath.

 

Tonight, the neighborhood is blocked off by police, deputies, and crime scene investigators, and will likely remain an active crime scene for the next day or so, according to Capt. Konrath.

 

"The scene is preserved, and evidence is still being processed as we speak," says Konrath.

 

Meanwhile, Konrath says the suspect was located and arrested at his parents' house Monday evening. Konrath says they've spoken with him since Saturday's discovery of VanderHeyden's body, but add that tonight's discovery of blood near his residence makes him a "prime suspect."

 

According to Konrath, VanderHeyden and the suspect have one child together. 

 

At this point, investigators don't have a motive for the alleged murder, but add they're not looking for a murder weapon.

 

A GoFundMepage has been set up for Nicole's family.

 

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ONGOING INVESTIGATION:

 

Tonight's crime scene in Ledgeview makes two crime scenes related to the discovery of VanderHeyden's body Saturday.

 

Investigators say VanderHeyden's injuries were substantial, but add they're not ready to reveal what led to her death just yet.

 

"We need a little more time to continually gather information, and evidence," says Konrath.

 

Now, Capt. Konrath says they'll be combing through the evidence, canvassing the neighborhood, and talking to as many people as possible throughout the coming days. 

 

Those involved in the investigation include the Brown Co. Drug Task Force, Green Bay Police Department, Ashwaubenon Public Safety, WI Dept. of Criminal Investigation, the D.O.J. Crime Lab, and the fire departments of Bellevue and Ledgeview. 

 

"All these people were [integral] in making this arrest, and preserving evidence," adds Konrath.