This is the story of Patricia Wisniewski and her apparent murder in 1975. First, one might ask, how did this story make its way to the podcast?
In early 1975, Vincent Maniaci was on trial for his role in cartage theft and fencing. He received stolen goods from truck drivers, including Erv Komassa and his friend Anton Wisniewski. Komassa worked for the Candy House (a candy store) and Wisniewski worked for Kohl’s Food Stores as a driver.
Between March 12 and April 17, Anton Wisniewski received three anonymous telephone threats, and reported them to US Attorney David Bukey, who was prosecuting Vincent Maniaci. Wisniewski was a witness for the prosecution, and explained his role in stealing 400 boxes of candy valued at $9,000.
In April 1975, Vincent Maniaci was convicted of extortion and interstate theft. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but the sentence was stayed while waiting for an appeal.
Patricia Serres Wisniewski, Anton’s wife, grew up in southeast Milwaukee, but was often in northeast Wisconsin because her mother’s family was from Peshtigo.
Patricia, 35, was shot once in the chest and killed in her mobile home at about 1:00am on August 30, 1975 in Beecher, Marinette County. The bullet had entered the trailer door and Patricia was standing on the other side. Her three small children were inside the trailer at the time but did not find her for almost seven hours because they had been asleep. Anton was not around, as he stayed in Pewaukee during the week and returned to the Beecher trailer on weekends. Julie (8), Brenda (7) and Emil (3) walked to the home of neighbor Joan (Mrs. Herman) French and said their mother was “sick” and sleeping on the floor. Joan gave the children paper and pencils to keep them occupied. They came back again less than an hour later and said their mom needed help. French found Patricia lying face down in a pool of blood. The Pembine rescue squad was called but were told by police to stay out of the trailer because there was nothing they could do.
Authorities first arrived around 11:00am, though the crime lab did not arrive until after 6pm. After declaring her (obviously) dead, Wisniewski’s body was taken to Dickinson Memorial Hospital in Iron Mountain for an autopsy. Photos and samples were taken of a tire track nearby and a shoe print found behind the trailer. Wisniewski’s husband, Antone, was a truck driver for Kohl’s Food Stores and had been a witness in the case of mobster Vincent Maniaci. Maniaci’s involvement in this death is highly questionable (in my opinion). The death may have simply been a hunting accident, though there was speculation that someone had knocked on the door prior to shooting Wisniewski. Strangely, this had been the fourth fatal shooting in Marinette County in the last two months; prior to that, no one had been killed for three years.
A neighbor, Richard L. Little of Wilmette, Illinois, said he had seen a vehicle in the public parking area for lake access around 8:30pm the night before. He went out to look because this was not a high-traffic area and thought he saw the outline of a van, and assumed it was Anton Wisniewski, so he went back inside.
Anton Wisniewski arrived just after midnight the first day in a red Pacer with Frank J. and June Schlegel Riviere. Wisniewski said on August 29 he was off work because he had a meeting with real estate agent, as he was being evicted in Pewaukee. He was home alone from 5pm until 8:30am the next morning when he was woken up by a call from the Kohl’s dispatcher letting him know he was late. He said he spent the night washing clothes and packing, and his only interaction was a phone call to Irv Komassa around 5:30pm. Wisniewski said he drove a 1975 Ford van, green in color. When asked where the clothes are he wore the day before, he said he had washed them, other than his windbreaker and boots. Police in Pewaukee took images of tracks left by his van. When asked if he would take a lie detector test, Wisniewski said no because there was too much in his past he did time for that he didn’t do, and too much that he was doing now that he could get time for again. At this time, Wisniewski retained attorney Herman Posner.
Police spoke with security officer John Makowski at Kohl’s who confirmed the hours Anton worked, and Makowski added that his office had Wisniewski “under surveillance for some time” because “he is always short of cargo when he reaches his destination.” Internally, police in Marinette were treating Anton as the primary suspect, and speaking with Pewaukee officers, this suspicion only deepened. Pewaukee Lieutenant Packard said the couple’s “marital problems” were well known and he would suspect Anton.
Patricia’s autopsy was conducted by Dr. Robert L. Anderson at the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital. A .30 caliber bullet was retrieved, and the markings indicated it was fired from a rifle with six land and grooves with a right hand twist. The gunshot damaged four ribs and a vertebra, as well as massive injury to the stomach and liver.
Marinette Sheriff Earl Wagner told the press on September 2, “We’re trying our best but we don’t have much information on these people. They’ve vacationed in the area before, but pretty much have kept to themselves.”
September 3, Wisniewski told the press that “deep down” he believed the death was caused by a “stray bullet from a poacher” hunting deer. “We’ve had quite a few stray bullets pass right by the mobile home. I don’t bear grudges against nobody. An accident can happen, just like if you walk down the stairs and slip on a banana peel and fall.”
On September 4, 1975, Irv Komassa was interviewed by the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office. He said he knew Pat Wisniewski and she had no enemy in the world. Her death shocked him.
September 5: police interviewed Wisniewski in the presence of his attorney, and permission was granted to search his home and van. They took his windbreaker, dirt samples, a gas receipt found in the van, and a 308 rifle that belonged to relative Michael Kachelski.
On September 8, 1975, police searched Anton Wisniewski’s Pewaukee home (709 East Wisconsin
Avenue) with his permission while investigating his wife’s death. They found nothing there indicating he was involved in a murder, but they did find numerous items connecting him to theft. They found toiletries, more than 20 boxes of flash cubes, 15 packages of film, 11 boxes of razor blades, kitchen goods and clothing with Kohl’s Food Stores labels on them.
September 9: Went to Anton’s brother’s trailer on Beecher Lake Road and recovered six 30-30 cartridges and bullet fragments.
September 16: police retrieved a 306 and 30-30 rifle from Anton’s half brother Frank Karger in Milwaukee, as well as a 30-30 rifle from Jay Retzer (whoever that is). None of the guns retrieved and tested were a positive match to the deadly bullet.
September 28: Police again tried to get Anton to do a polygraph and he declined, saying he believed it was a stray bullet.
September 30: the crime lab completed analyzing Anton’s boots and could not match them to the prints up north. The dirt did not match and the print wasn’t clear enough to determine an exact pattern or size.
Here are four theories on who shot Patricia, ranked least to most likely in my opinion:
- The Mafia. Is it possible Vincent Maniaci or one of his connected friends killed Patricia to get revenge on her husband? Sure. But this feels very unlikely, despite the alleged threats. Targeting Patricia rather than Anton seems pointless, and arranging a hit in rural Marinette County takes a lot more logistics than setting something up in rural Waukesha County.
- Stray bullet. FBI special agent Charles Monroe said, “You’ve got a woman shot through the door… it doesn’t sound natural that a stray bullet from a deer poacher could have killed her. It’s a possibility, but not a very likely one.” I agree with Monroe. Yes, it’s possible someone was illegally hunting deer at 1:00am and they shot through a mobile home door. Yet, it seems awfully coincidental that Patricia was standing in front of the door at just that moment. Why would she be awake and at the front door?
- An unknown party, possibly hired. This is sort of two theories rolled into one. Either an unknown person who disliked Patricia, or someone hired by Anton to do the job. Either is possible, but no evidence has turned up to support the idea Patricia was disliked or that another individual was involved.
- The husband did it. Although there’s no physical evidence connecting Anton to the murder, he seems the most likely suspect. A vehicle that could have been his was seen nearby. He was quick to latch on to the stray bullet idea rather than vocally support police investigations. And his alibi is weak. If he left Pewaukee at 5:30, he could have been in Beecher around 8:30pm when the vehicle was seen. And there was plenty of time to get back home before the phone call at 8:30am. His oversleeping hints at Anton being up much too late. The only odd part is if he was parked nearby at 8:30pm, why was the shooting not until 1:00am? What was he doing for four hours?
The Wisniewski children were raised in ways that were later described as “unstable” and “turbulent.” Various relatives took care of them while their father was in and out of jail for various thefts. Emil, who was only a toddler when his mother died, was arrested by the time he turned 12 for burglary.
Shortly after midnight on November 4, 1990 – Emil Wisniewski, 18, shot gas station attendant Michael Hicke, 18, twice, including once in the head with a .25 caliber bullet. Emil and brother Anton were robbing the Shell station at 4261 West Loomis Road, Greenfield. They asked Hicke, who they knew personally, to go along with it and tell police he had been robbed. Hicke wasn’t even supposed to be there that day, as he had picked up a shift from co-worker Mark Tarczewski. When Hicke refused, he was killed so the robbery could proceed anyway. They took $155 from a safe and filled their car with gas.
According to the computers in the pumps, five other people also pumped gas and did not pay for it when no attendant came out. Hours went by before anyone went to see where one was, finding Hicke around 6:50am near the car wash entrance. Police urged those who pumped gas to visit them without fear of arrest.
The brothers were caught soon after (November 8) because of an “informant.” They were found in a relative’s garage stripping a stolen car. After their arrest, Emil said the first shot was accidental, and the second fatal shot was to put him out of his misery. He later changed his story and said the killing was to prevent identification. Both brothers were held on $551,000 bond each by Judge Charles Schudson, who called their alleged acts “terrible crimes.” This was the first murder in Greenfield in four years.
September 17, 1991: Emil pleaded guilty before his trial began. His defense attorney, Ann Bowe, explained, “The decision to plead was made basically because the judge said his confession was admissible. It was very damaging.” By pleading guilty, he would be eligible for parole rather than risk being found guilty and getting life without parole.
November 12, 1991: Emil Wisniewski was sentenced to life in prison by Judge Laurence Gram after pleading guilty to first-degree homicide. His first opportunity for parole would come in 2032 when he was 59 years old. Letters from Hicke’s aunt and grandmother were read at the sentencing.
December 17, 1991: Anton Wisniewski was sentenced to 45 years in prison by Judge Laurence Gram for being an accomplice to murder. He had pleaded guilty to felony murder, armed robbery and receiving stolen property.