August 1, 2016 at 2:43 p.m.
Case against man accused of burglarizing site of double murder headed for trial
Case against man accused of burglarizing site of double murder headed for trial
Mark F. Spietz, 39, was arrested Oct. 22, 2015 on allegations he entered the property of Jennifer and Thomas Ayers on three separate occasions and took numerous items belonging to the family.
The two Ayers were slain March 7, 2015 by Jennifer Ayer's 17-year-old daughter Ashlee A. Martinson.
Martinson eventually pled guilty to two counts of second-degree intentional homicide and was sentenced June 10 to 23 years in prison and 17 years extended supervision. In pleading no contest, Martinson admitted to fatally shooting her stepfather and stabbing her mother to death.
Spietz has been charged with three counts of burglary, theft of movable property and identity theft for financial gain, all felonies.
According to the criminal complaint, Spietz's alleged activities were discovered on Oct. 15, 2015 when a pickup 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 Ayers' 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 was allowed on the property without a court order while the murder case was pending 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 removed from the property. The digital cameras had captured images of someone entering the property at 7:35 a.m. Oct. 18 with a pickup 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 residence. 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 told the officers.
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 (them) 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."
On Dec. 1, Spietz waived his right to a preliminary hearing and his $2,500 cash bond was modified to a $2,500 signature bond.
At the Dec. 28 arraignment, Spietz waived formal reading of the information and entered not guilty pleas on all five charges.
At a pre-trial conference July 19, defense attorney Brian Bennett and district attorney Michael Schiek told Judge Michael Bloom that a negotiated plea agreement could not be reached, and the case was going to proceed to a two-day jury trial starting Aug. 21.
Three civil forfeiture cases to seize a heavy duty truck and two trailers were ordered to track along with the felony case.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at jtaylor @lakelandtimes.com.
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