CALUMET COUNTY (NBC 26) — A criminal charge against a man accused of hiding a corpse in connection to the 1983 death of a Neenah man was dismissed Wednesday.
A Calumet County judge granted a defense motion to dismiss the charge against John Andrews, who was convicted of killing Starkie Swenson back in the 1980s.
Swenson's remains were not found until September 2021. He was last seen alive in Neenah in 1983. In April, authorities announced Andrews has been arrested on a charge of hiding a corpse.
Andrews' defense had previously said the statue of hiding a corpse was not in existence until 1991. But with a six-year statute of limitations in Wisconsin, the D.A. stated the charge is set in June 2021. A criminal complaint had previously said authorities interviewed Andrews about the location of Swenson's corpse in June 2021. According to the complaint, Andrews said, he had "no clue" where Swenson's body was located, and "he never spoke to Starkie in person and never seen him in person."
The sheriff's office said Swenson’s remains were discovered by two hikers accessing trails at High Cliff State Park back in September last year. Authorities announced the verification of Swenson's remains in December.
