WATERTOWN — A Jefferson County judge has approved the conditional release of a man who killed Dustin Vander Heyden with a sword 11 years ago, sparking outrage from the victim's family who fear for their safety.
Young Choi, 40, stabbed and killed Vander Heyden in an unprovoked attack in 2014 inside an apartment above a Watertown bar. Choi pleaded guilty but was found not guilty by mental defect and was sent to a mental health institution.
"He's too dangerous," said Vander Heyden's widow, who asked not to be identified due to safety concerns. "He's very dangerous. We need to protect our community."
The widow said she still grieves for her husband, remembering him as someone who was "always smiling at work" and would help anyone in need.
"We miss D so, so much," she said.
A witness who was also stabbed by Choi during the 2014 incident recalled the horrific scene to TMJ4 at the time.
"I saw a man standing over another, hitting him with a sword. Just striking him with it," David Gerard said in 2014.
According to the criminal complaint, Vander Heyden died from serious injuries to his back, shoulders and neck. A witness told police Choi said, "I stabbed that [expletive]."
Since 2019, court records show Choi has filed six petitions for community release. A Jefferson County judge denied Choi's two attempts last year, saying Choi "continues to be dangerous."
That changed Wednesday when the court ruled it "cannot find that Mr. Choi would pose a significant risk of bodily harm to himself or to others."
Watch: Victim's widow outraged after judge approves sword killer's release
When asked if Choi deserves to be back in the community 11 years later, Vander Heyden's widow shook her head no.
"It's still too early," she said. "Who can heal that quick? There are other victims out there. Can you imagine what they're going through?"
Choi's defense attorney Nick Gansner said his client has expressed remorse for the 2014 incident.
"Some people may question how you could go from being considered a danger to the community 10 months ago to having that all change now," Lighthouse reporter Ben Jordan said.
"Sure, I think that's a reasonable question," Gansner replied. "On this occasion we actually had two evaluations done. On both of those, licensed psychologists concluded that Mr. Choi was appropriate for conditional release."
Under Wisconsin's criminal justice system, if Choi had been found mentally competent and guilty of first degree intentional homicide as charged, he would have spent at least 20 years in prison. But since Choi was found not guilty by mental defect, there's no minimum amount of time he has to be kept in a mental institution, Gansner said.
"That does not mean he's going to simply walk out into the world and be unsupervised. Far from it," Gansner said.
The specific conditions of Choi's release will be determined by a judge in January. Gansner said Choi will likely live in some kind of supervised group home.
Vander Heyden's widow said she still worries for her family's safety and wants Choi monitored at all times.
"They better be on him like a fly to a fly trap stick," she said. "I just don't need anyone else injured or hurt."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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