March 2, 2016 at 5:22 p.m.
Detective honored for closing Wells case
Detective honored for closing Wells case
By Brian Paynter-
But Chiamulera called it a team effort.
"Thank you for giving this to me, but it goes to Rhinelander PD and everyone who helped," he said after receiving the framed certificate.
Shannon Wolf, 41, of Rhinelander, and his ex-wife, Latoya Wolf, 34, of Tomahawk, were recently convicted and sentenced in connection with the June 28, 2003, death of Wells under the Davenport Street bridge.
"Josh, I want to say congratulations on a job well done," Johns said.
Everyone in the training room of the police department applauded.
Chiamulera's mother, Barb; his wife, Jenny; and young daughters Emma, June, and Lena also attended the recognition event.
"I guess I could say that it wasn't just me," Chiamulera said. "Everyone in the department had to listen and put up with me."
He credited fellow detective Sgt. Brian Zohimsky and other agencies, such as the Wisconsin Department of Justice, for assisting with the case.
"It was a challenge finding people after 10 years," Chiamulera said. "We did a lot of legwork."
Police Chief Mike Steffes congratulated Chiamulera and presented him with a commendation pin for his uniform.
"Great job, Josh," he said.
Steffes said Chiamulera followed up on many leads and worked hard to be able to close the Wells case.
"Like Josh said, there were many people who were involved," Steffes said. "We had secretaries who spent countless hours typing up reports."
Later, Chiamulera thanked Sgt. Kurt Helke for not telling him Steffes had planned a recognition event for him.
"Well, you needed something unprecedented because what you did was unprecedented," Helke said.
In January 2014, Chiamulera reopened the Wells case after police received new information about his death while looking into an unrelated violent crime.
Chiamulera said the initial autopsy didn't lead investigators to consider that Wells' death in 2003 may have been a homicide.
According to court records, Wells' death was ruled as "probable freshwater drowning" and the manner of death was listed as "undetermined."
Wells' body was found on July 1, 2003, in the Wisconsin River behind Trig's Riverwalk Centre.
"It was a shock to our family," Johns said. "When that happened, I and most of the community knew that something wasn't right."
Earlier, he choked up while reading the proclamation for Chiamulera. His sons Dan, Tom and Lance grew up with Wells. When Dan died of tongue cancer at age 47 - nine days before Wells was killed - Wells' sisters Bonnie and Linda sent flowers to the funeral home.
"Punky was a young fella who never had a chance," Dick Johns said. "He was a small man. He was picked on. He had a rough life."
Brian Paynter may be reached at [email protected].
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