Elderly double-murderer passes away

The elderly Lakewood man convicted last year of murdering a Green Bay couple in 1976 has died in prison, 10 months after being sentenced to consecutive life prison terms.

Ray L. Vannieuwenhoven, 85, was 39 years old and living in Suamico when David Schuldes, 25, and Ellen Matheys, 24, were shot to death at the McClintock Park campground in the Town of Silver Cliff. Matheys was also sexually assaulted.

His criminal record had been clear for nearly 60 years until modern forensic technology matched evidence collected in 1976 to his DNA profile, and he was arrested March 14, 2019, at his home in Lakewood.

After a week-long trial and two hours of deliberation, a Marinette County jury last July 27 found Vannieuwenhoven guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, as first-degree intentional homicide was known in 1976. Judge James A. Morrison issued consecutive life sentences, which would not have made him eligible for parole for 40 years.

The Department of Corrections confirmed that Vannieuwenhoven died June 17 at Oshkosh Correctional Institution. A cause of death was not released.

His attorneys had begun the process of filing an appeal, according to online court records.