WBAY reports from OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, WI. A guy suspected of murdering his children in Kaukauna was found guilty of attempting to elude capture.
On August 18, Matthew Beyer, 38, pled not guilty to charges of Taking Hostages/Releasing without Bodily Harm and Attempted Escape-Criminal Arrest.
The sentencing date is set for October 24.
In addition, fresh trial dates have been scheduled for Beyer on two counts of First Degree Intentional Homicide in the 2020 deaths of his children, William Beyer, 5, and Danielle Beyer, 3.
Beyer’s trial was originally set for late 2021, however it was pushed out to September 2022. Beyer was anticipated to accept a plea deal in March, but the defense stated that they would instead go to trial. Beyer’s attorneys stated that they were having difficulty obtaining evidence that prosecutors had. According to the prosecution, one worker at the crime lab was conducting substantial work on the case and working with new technologies.
The court set aside 12 days for a jury trial beginning December 1, 2022, on Thursday.
On February 17, 2020, the children were discovered dead at their mother’s house in Kaukauna. The children were discovered in their bedroom with injuries to their necks that one officer characterized as nearly a hole, according to the criminal complaint obtained by Action 2 News. William and Danielle had five to eight sharp force injuries to their necks, according to autopsies. William also suffered two superficial cuts on his hands, which authorities believe show he fought back.
A witness informed police that Beyer outlined in detail how he would have slain the children so they couldn’t cry and notify anybody a week after they were dead. Beyer, according to the witness, did not think he was their father and was furious about having to pay child support when the mother refused to allow him visit the children.
Beyer pled no contest on Thursday and was found guilty of attempting to escape from the Outagamie County Jail in June of 2020. According to the criminal complaint, Beyer gave another inmate, Demetrius Williams, a piece of cardboard that convicts use as a privacy cover when using the restroom. Williams concealed behind the cardboard in the dayroom and shocked an officer who arrived to check on the detainees.
Williams restrained the security guard and threatened her with a sharp pencil. He insisted on accompanying Beyer and instructed her to open Beyer’s cell. The guard agreed, but instead clicked the button to open a separate cell door, diverting Williams just long enough for him to run down the corridor and shout for aid.
Williams was eventually sentenced to 45 years in jail for murdering a three-year-old girl and attempting to murder her expectant mother in Appleton.
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