October 28, 2015 at 5:11 p.m.
Details emerge in burglary case involving site of double homicide
Man charged with entering house three times
Details emerge in burglary case involving site of double homicide
Mark F. Spietz, 38, was arrested Oct. 22 on allegations he entered the Ayers property on three separate occasions and took numerous items belonging to the family.
Jennifer and Thomas Ayers were slain March 7. Jennifer Ayer's daughter, Ashlee A. Martinson, 17, has been charged in both deaths. Police say she fatally shot her stepfather and stabbed her mother to death. She has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Spietz has been charged with burglary, theft of movable property and identity theft for financial gain, all felony counts. He made an initial appearance Monday afternoon before Oneida County Circuit Judge Michael Bloom.
This is the second time the Ayers residence has been broken into since the homicides took place.
Dan J. Mohr, 18, of Rhinelander, was arrested outside the house April 16. He was in possession of several of Martinson's drawings and several knives taken from the house. He was charged April 17 with a felony count of burglary and misdemeanor theft. The case was resolved on Aug. 4 after he accepted a plea agreement. He entered no contest pleas to misdemeanor charges of criminal damage to property and theft and was sentenced to one year probation. As part of probation he must perform 100 hours of community service and pay court costs. If he successfully completes all aspects of his sentence, he can petition the court to have the conviction expunged from his record.
According to Oneida County sheriff's captain Terri Hook, the house and the property inside are sealed due to proceedings in probate court. Jennifer and Thomas Ayers had three young daughters who are expected to benefit from the eventual sale of all the property as a part of the probate case. As a result, sheriff's deputies frequently check on the property, which can only be entered by court order.
According to the criminal complaint, Spietz's activities were discovered on Oct. 15 when a pick-up truck and trailer were observed at the residence. Before on-duty deputies could be dispatched, the truck left the house. When the house was checked it was discovered that three ATVs were missing from the home and that the door had been forcibly opened. In addition to the ATVs, it was determined that a riding lawn mower, Jennifer Ayer's purse, the keys to an SUV that had been parked in the garage, several bows that had been in the master bedroom, and an ATV trailer were missing.
In addition, several keys that had been in the kitchen were also missing and a smaller ATV had been moved behind the garage.
Because no one is allowed on the property without a court order, and because it appeared that whomever had taken the items planned to return, investigators set up two digital cameras on the property to record any visits.
During a check on Oct. 21, it was discovered that the small ATV had been taken from the property. The digital cameras had captured images of someone entering the property at 7:35 a.m. on Oct. 18 with a pick-up truck and dump trailer.
It left with the ATV two minutes later. The same truck was observed on security videos passing three different gas stations in Monico, Pelican Lake and Elcho on the same date, the complaint states.
On Oct. 22, armed with the name of the registered owner of the truck obtained from the cameras on the Ayers' property, sheriff's detectives contacted the Kaukauna Police Department and asked them to see if Spietz's truck was at his home. A Kaukauna officer confirmed that the truck was there, along with what appeared to be one of the ATVs and the missing utility trailer from the Ayers' home. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the Spietz residence and asked the Kaukauna officer to arrest Spietz if he tried to leave the house while they traveled to Kaukauna.
By the time Oneida County detectives arrived, Spietz had already been taken into custody and transported to the Kaukauna Police Department on a preliminary charge of trespassing. During questioning, Spietz told the detectives that he had a work order from an asset management company to be on the property. He said the company hires independent contractors such as himself to secure buildings involved in foreclosure actions, take care of the property, and in some cases, clear everything out of the properties. He said he receives work orders from the company via smartphone, then performs whatever the work order tells him to do.
He told the detectives that he received the first work order to "secure" the Ayers' home on Sept. 1, and first checked the property a few weeks later. When he saw the truck in the garage and a package on the porch, he thought someone was living there, he tolf the officer. He said he took pictures of everything but didn't enter the house at that time. The detective's report states Spietz reported that he contacted the asset management company from the field and informed them he thought the property was still occupied.
He said he returned in mid-September to do the "initial secure" on the property for the company. He told the detectives he found a notice on the door saying the property had been deemed abandoned by the bank and only those people hired by the bank could be on the property.
He told officers he discovered the door was unlocked and went in to examine the premises. He admitted to taking the four-wheelers, Jennifer Ayers' purse, a lawn mower, the bows and a propane heater. He said he looked into the ownership of the truck in the garage because he thought it was abandoned and he might be able to claim it. It was while he was researching the vehicle that he discovered what had happened in the house, he said.
When asked by the detectives why he came back a third time and took additional items after learning the house was the scene of an open double homicide, Spietz replied "the house was abandoned."
According to the complaint, Spietz told the officers he takes items from abandoned properties he is sent to secure because someone else would take it later when a clean out order is sent by the company. When he was informed the company he was working for had not been given the task of securing the Ayers' home and that the house hadn't even gone into foreclosure until Oct. 6, he repeatedly stated "I didn't know that."
When he was told the notice he said he saw on the front door was actually from the utility company, not the bank, and that he had no authority to be in the house or remove any items because a different asset management company was responsible for that, he again replied that he didn't have that information.
Spietz was transported to the Oneida County Jail and held until his initial court appearance before Bloom.
Attorney Brian Bennett appeared on behalf of Spietz's regular attorney and entered a not guilty plea. A $5,000 cash bond was set in the case, which Spietz later posted. A date for a preliminary hearing has not yet been set. All of the items Spietz allegedly took from the house have been recovered.
Hook said patrols will be stepped up and cameras will remain on the Ayers' property. Anyone caught on the premises will face trespassing charges.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at jtaylor@ lakelandtimes.com.
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