WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU) – Donald Maier, the suspect in a cold case killing in Wisconsin Rapids from 1985, refused to appear in court on Friday.
He’s being held in the Racine County Jail on an unrelated conviction. He would have appeared via a video-link.
The judge said that Maier will be required to attend his next court appearance, a preliminary hearing where the judge will rule if there’s enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Maier is accused of first-degree intentional homicide in the stabbing death of Benny Scruggs 37 years ago. Scruggs was stabbed while he was asleep. Maier was his next-door neighbor at the time.
Earlier in the investigation Maier had claimed the victim’s wife, Yvonne Scruggs, was the killer. She has since died. Prosecutors say the charges against Maier are based on new witness testimony and Maier’s boasting in jail that he was the killer.
The court has also ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Future court appearances have not yet been scheduled.
