BOZEMAN – State prosecutors are asking District Court Judge Holly Brown to deny a motion to suppress evidence in the case of a Belgrade man suspected in the fatal shooting of his estranged wife last January.
Joseph Paul DeWise is charged with deliberate homicide in the shooting death of Lauren Walder DeWise and attempted homicide for the shooting of her roommate, Ashley Van Hemert, who survived critical gunshot injuries sustained in the Jan. 7 incident.
DeWise also faces a separate charge for evidence tampering related to the case. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Dec. 3, DeWise’s defense attorneys filed a motion to suppress a recorded interview he gave to the Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) a day after the fatal shooting in Belgrade.
DeWise’s attorneys argued that his statements in the interview—held to determine legal custody of his children—were involuntary and that he was never read his rights or advised of his right to have an attorney present.
In court filings this week, prosecutors argue that DeWise’s interview with DPHHS was voluntary, and that the interviewer was not required to read him his rights.
Judge Brown has yet to rule on the defense’s motion. DeWise’s trial is set to begin Feb. 19.
