Kriti Mehrotra
When Lauren DeWise left her husband, Joseph Paul DeWise, moved in with friends and decided to file for divorce following years of his alleged toxic behavior, she finally felt safer than ever. However, as carefully explored in ABC’s ’20/20: You Left Me For Dead’ as well as Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Murder Tapes: Footprints in the Snow,’ her relief sadly didn’t last for very long. That’s because, late at night on January 6, 2018, her husband broke into her home and opened fire and not only killed his estranged wife but also critically wounded one of her roommates.
Joseph DeWise Was Allegedly Abusive, Controlling, and Possessive
It was purportedly around the early 2010s when Joseph first came across Lauren by pure chance, just to soon fall head over heels in love despite both of them being married to other people. She reciprocated his feelings, so the couple ended up parting ways with their spouses before tying the knot themselves and welcoming an adorable baby girl into this world. This made Joseph a stay-at-home father of three — he already had two children from his previous marriage: a daughter named Natalie, who was born around 2000, and a son named Joseph “Joe” Jr., whom they welcomed in 2002.
According to reports, Joseph and Lauren seemed to have a nearly idyllic blended family from the outside, especially since even his kids thought of her as a parental figure, but that wasn’t true. While Natalie and Joe definitely shared a great bond with their stepmother, her relationship with her husband had undeniably soured over the years, owing to a variety of reasons. This was to such an extent that when they argued, he reportedly often threatened to take her life and even tried gaslighting her into thinking she complained a lot — all of which he recorded on his cellphone.
These recordings came to light on January 7, 2018, hours after officials had found Lauren dead in her home and her roommate Ashley Van Hemert injured. They had both been shot multiple times. The police questioned Joseph the same day, just for him to assert the separation had been hard on him before adding he had no idea who could have harmed his wife. He then unwittingly gave his phone for a search, resulting in all the voice recordings he made to be found. Furthermore, detectives also uncovered that Joseph had been causing her trouble recently, too, whether by following her or placing a GPS in her car, hoping to catch her out with other men.
Joseph DeWise’s Son Broke the Murder Case of Lauren Wide Open
As per records, it was in 2017 when Joseph kicked Lauren out of their home after accusing her of being unfaithful, leaving her with no choice but to move in with some close friends. Little did he know she would soon make the most of this opportunity by deciding to completely start afresh. She became the independent woman she really was and even filed for a divorce. In fact, by the time 2018 rolled around, the mother of one was admitting to friends that the place she called home was finally her sanctuary, and she was feeling safe for the first time in years.
But alas, then came the morning of January 7, 2018, when her roommate Audria Butler returned home to find Lauren fatally shot in her room while Ashley was injured, pleading for her life, in hers. When Joseph was questioned about this incident, he asserted he had spent the evening of January 6 watching movies with his kids before going out on a midnight beer with his son. Then, he said, they returned home and went to sleep, which is precisely what Joe iterated when he was initially interviewed. However, he changed his story the next day after being pushed to tell the truth.
It turns out investigators had found not one but two sets of shoe prints on the snow in the backyard of Lauren’s Idaho Street home in Belgrade, Montana, and while one was big, the other was small. Thus, they urged 15-year-old Joe to tell the truth so that they could help him, resulting in him breaking and admitting that his father had forced him to go out with him on that fateful night. Through tears, in the company of his mother, Joe stated he had no idea what the plan was, but he did what was asked of him in fear. The then-teenager said he thought his sisters would get hurt if he didn’t comply. He ultimately confirmed it was Joseph who had opened fire on the two women – Lauren and Ashley – while he was in the living room downstairs.
Joseph DeWise Tried to Get His Son to Take the Blame For His Offenses
Joseph was arrested on the charges of deliberate homicide in the death of Lauren DeWise and attempted deliberate homicide in the shooting of Ashley Van Hemert on January 11, 2018. He was subsequently held on a $1 million bond and explicitly ordered not to contact his alleged survivor, the families of those affected, or the witnesses of the incident, which included his own kids. However, he broke the restrictions placed on him within a month by making two phone calls to a number belonging to his daughter. The first was on February 6, 2018, whereas the second was on February 7.
According to prison call transcripts submitted to the court, during the second call that lasted for 12½ minutes, Joseph tried to convince his daughter Natalie to ask his son Joe to take the blame. He reportedly started the conversation by admitting he knew he shouldn’t be talking to her before adding he had no choice because he also knew Joe had told officials he was responsible. His exact words were: “[Joe] said that I took him with me, and I’m responsible for what happened. So, that means to me that, um, [Joe] must have done it… It’s real important that he admits it because if he admits it, then I get the f*** out of here. Understand?”
As if that’s not enough, Joseph then told his daughter that Joe’s false admission would make everything okay because he is still a minor and would probably be out of jail by age 21. He went as far as to tell Natalie that while he knew his 15-year-old son was scared, jail would be good for him because it would be clean, safe, and nice for him. In the end, his efforts thankfully failed, and the then-47-year-old ended up facing an additional criminal charge of felony witness tampering for breaking the one explicit stipulation placed on him.
Joseph DeWise is Currently Incarcerated in Arizona
Despite the fact Joseph had been arrested and charged in January 2018, it wasn’t until December 2019 that he stood trial for the accusations against him owing to legal delays and motions. Throughout the 7 days of proceedings, the defendant vehemently maintained his innocence, even testifying that his relationship with his estranged wife was only full of “good times.” Then, when asked about the recordings he had made of their fights and all the threats against her life he had sprinkled in them, he became very defensive before stating he didn’t mean what he said.
Joseph said, “I never threatened my wife in any way like that… I’m not that kind of person. I respect, and I loved her strength and her individuality.” He even became angry when further questioned, expressing that he wasn’t “a controlling person” and that he had been “falsely accused here. I didn’t do it, and I don’t deserve to go to prison.” In the end, owing to all the evidence, he was found guilty of the charges against him.
Joseph was sentenced to a total of 220 years behind bars without the possibility of parole in early 2020, along with an order to pay a total of $25,267.10 in restitution to his victims/their families. He was given 100 years for the charge of deliberate homicide with an additional 10 years for weapons enhancement, followed by another 110 years for the charge of attempted deliberate homicide. Therefore, today, at the age of 54, despite his reporting agency being the Montana Department of Corrections, Joseph is incarcerated at the multi-level security Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona.
Read More: Ashley Van Hemert: The Survivor is a Public Speaker Today
