Heather DeWild Murder: Where is Dan DeWild Now? – The murder of Heather DeWild in July 2003 in Edgewater, Colorado, is the subject of Investigation Discovery’s episode “Til Death Do Us Part: Blood is Thicker Than Water.” The episode focuses on the complicated investigation procedure that assisted in identifying the offenders and the drawn-out legal process that followed before justice was rendered. We’ve got your back if you’re curious about who the culprits are and where they are right now. So let’s get started, shall we?
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Heather DeWild’s Cause of Death
David “Dave” Springer, a retired Denver police officer, and Carole Springer welcomed Heather Jean Springer DeWild into the world on April 21, 1973. She was kind and caring and had two sisters, Rebecca and Jennifer. Hannah and Jacob were born into the marriage between her and Daniel “Dan” Donald DeWild. In contrast, by 2003, their marriage had soured, and she desired a divorce. On July 22, Dan made one more attempt to save their relationship by sending flowers to her parent’s house in Arvada, Colorado, but Heather, then 20 years old, rejected him.
On July 24, 2003, Heather had to go to Edgewater, Colorado, home of her soon-to-be ex-husband, to sign a check and pick up the health insurance cards. She decided to go over and take the kids with her against her mother’s cautions to avoid any incident. Carole called Dan to inquire about her daughter, but she did not call back. Dan informed her that she had left the kids with him and gone shopping.
As soon as Carole saw something wasn’t right, Heather’s parents knew there was a problem. Heather fiercely protected her kids and would never leave them alone, especially with someone with whom she had previously fought for custody of them. Carole discovered that although her daughter had abandoned all of her cash and credit cards, her automobile had gone missing. Police began looking for Heather after her parents reported her missing and filed a missing person report.
On September 4, 2003, Curtis Johnson, a roadworker, was removing dirt from a canyon road off of U.S. Highway 6 that was traveling in the opposite direction. He came uncovered Heather’s decaying body in a small burial by accident. Her face was taped off, and the body was wrapped in trash bags while still wearing the same clothing that was worn when she was reported missing. The medical examiner could not pinpoint the precise cause of death because of how extensively the body had decayed. However, her skull and face bones were severely shattered, and it was implied that she might have suffocated to death.
Who Killed Heather DeWild and Why?
Before discovering Heather DeWild’s remains, the detectives had started looking into Heather’s husband, Dan, in relation to his missing wife. They also learned that Dan has an identical twin brother named David Norman DeWild, who shared Dan’s home with his ex-girlfriend Mary Roseanne. They started to wonder why David, who was a professional mechanic like his brother, had driven his car 15 miles to be fixed. The detectives believed that they had planned an elaborate plot to eliminate Heather.
The police went to Dan’s house but could not locate any indication of wrongdoing. A skilled cadaver dog discovered a rotting human scent in David’s car when they returned six days later with a search warrant, but all of the evidence had been removed. A day later, David astonished everyone by getting married to Mary. Later, it became clear to the police that it was a rushed decision to keep her from testifying against him in court just in case.
Officers discovered Heather’s white Sentra on August 4, 2003, in the parking lot of an apartment building in Wheat Ridge. According to the locals, the car had been left there for a few days. The car was so well-cleaned that there were no signs that Heather had ever been inside; therefore, the cops could not find any evidence of it. A month later, Heather’s body was also discovered, and it was determined that she had been murdered. The trash bags used to wrap the body resembled those used in Dan’s home regarding the general class.
All of these, meanwhile, was merely circumstantial proof; there was no conclusive evidence linking Dan to the crime. Even DNA testing would be useless because Dan and David are identical twins, making it impossible to distinguish between their DNA. The case eventually went cold before a fresh team of investigators discovered new evidence in 2009. They found a sex tape that showed Dan consensually tying Heather in knots that resembled those used to tie her decaying body. Additionally, they discovered Dan had already created an online dating profile indicating he was a widower before Heather’s body was located.
Additionally, investigators spoke with Dan’s next-door neighbor, Rick Kensington, who stated under oath that Dan was furious about the divorce and claimed that Heather was wrecking his life and receiving everything. He referred to his displeasure with paying child support. But the most convincing piece of proof came from a witness who claimed to have seen Dan, David, and Mary early one morning at the exact location where Heather’s body was eventually discovered.
On December 14, 2011, all three suspects were taken into custody on one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder based on a growing mountain of circumstantial evidence. If David, who was 41 at the time, hadn’t turned on his brother, it could have been challenging to condemn them. Months before the murder trial began, in August 2012, he entered a guilty plea to conspiracy counts. David admitted to helping his brother kill Heather because he didn’t want to pay child support or lose full-time custody of the kids, and he also didn’t want to lose Heather’s help.
Where is Dan DeWild Now?
In exchange for testifying against Dan in the November 2012 trial, David accepted a plea agreement in which the murder charges were withdrawn. He admitted solely to conspiring to commit second-degree murder. Dan, on the other hand, entered a not-guilty plea, stressing that he was unaware of Heather’s death, and David was named as the murderer by his defense attorney. Although they were unable to agree on the allegation of first-degree murder, the jury convicted Dan guilty of conspiracy to commit the crime.
Despite the mistrial ruling, Dan decided against having a new trial because he did not want to run the danger of receiving a life sentence. The 50-year-old entered into a plea agreement in February 2013 and admitted guilty to second-degree murder. He was given a 74-year prison sentence, which he is still serving at the Colorado State Penitentiary. According to prison records, he will be eligible for parole in May 2045.
