By now, they were deeply concerned. Even before the Wilmette officers arrested Hofer, he had a run-in with police. [7] While walking around the extensive rubble, they discovered what appeared to be another body and notified the police. In the following days, Olds defended his young friend to reporters, and tried to debunk the evidence authorities had presented against the German national. Coincidentally, that same march, Sue Olds and her lawyer finally put a clamp on the familys hemorrhaging financial situation. Their first child, Craig, came in 1942, followed by Claudia in 1944. And she called on Schiller, DuCanto and Fleck, the countrys largest matrimonial law firm. [20], In September 2018, one of the main witnesses in the case against Ronnie Busick, as well as the cold case investigators who filed the charges, gave their first interviews to the Tulsa World for a special report. [8] Jones had claimed that he murdered Freeman's parents as a favor for a friend over drug debt, then took the girls to Kansas, where he shot them and threw their bodies into an abandoned mine. Spending most of the spring and summer Rollerblading, running, partying with his friends on Oldss powerboat in Wilmette harbor, and going to bars at night, Hofer also decided to try his hand at modeling. I find they have more presence, more grace, than their American counterparts. Suzanne Olds, his petite and vivacious wife, presided over an $880,000 house in the Indian Hill Estates section of Wilmette, where the couple had reared three children. However, the relationship soon proves tumultuous, as Rory finds the relationship moving too fast for her. Hofer said the idea was his, hatched when he was working as the assistant to the owner of an incentive travel business in Munich. The police investigation centered on Hoer from the beginning, and detectives also closely followed the movements of Dean Olds. Pavlak termed the leave not entirely voluntary. Though people close to the firm say there were few outward manifestations at the office of Oldss problem, it was something he knew he had to deal with and wanted to conquer, a friend said. Mrs. Oldss survivors, her three children and her brother and sister, as well as her many friends, are shattered by the situation. The 10-room brick ranch-style house in Wilmette where Suzanne Olds was bludgeoned to death in 1993 and where her ex-husband, Dean Olds, lived until he was evicted by her estate in 1996 sold on . But his circumstances took a sharp turn for the better in March, when a judge ruled that because at this point there is nothing that says or claims that Mr. Olds was involved with his wifes slaying, the divorce action should end with her death. Experts are already predicting an uphill fight in the aftermath of the judgment against Simpson, in which a jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages totaling $33.5 million against the former football star. Jurors returned the verdict after about 14 hours of deliberation. And I think the Olds family felt that way in regards to the criminal trial of Helmut Hofer.". But after he started spending much of his time and considerable wealth on an attractive young German man named Helmut Carsten Hofer, she filed for divorce. I believe it was less about money," Anderson said. Logan was 29 years old and Rory had just turned 22. Meanwhile, Wilmette police say their investigation of Dean Olds "is not active at this time.". Still, Mrs. Olds tried to conceal what she thought were the worst aspects of the situation from the children. Even with things that developed concerning Carsten and Dean, she didnt want us to be suggestive or descriptive in what we were doing in the divorce case In the pleadings we were very general [using terms such as] business associate, friend.. ``They were the only two people in the world who didnt love her, Courtney Olds said as her eyes filled with tears. He was trying to extricate himself from a complicated relationship with Olds at the time of Mrs. Olds slaying but was financially dependent upon him, McDermott said. On May tenth, Wilmette police arrested the 25-year-old Hofer and charged him with first-degree murder in the death of Mrs. Olds. At the Kenilworth Union Church, she taught Sunday school and worked on the annual bazaar. During a press conference at the Wilmette police station the next day, Carpenter insisted that Hofer was not arrested because he planned to leave the country, but because the evidence came together.. Goebel also told the court that footprints found in the snow leading to the garage where Mrs. Olds was murdered and leading away from the garage were analyzed and found to be similar to prints of boots owned by Hofer. Dean sold his company to Sara Lee Foods in 1984, remaining its spokesperson until 2003. "He introduced him as the orphaned nephew of a client of his who was down on his luck," Glavin testified. You could tell that swear words would make her a little uncomfortable.. For example, at a press conference the day after Hofer was arrested, Kling, his defense lawyer, made much of Hofers modeling career in Germany and his success in that field here, even referring to his appearance in a national Gatorade commercial. But in 1990, he won the biggest case of his career representing the little guy in a battle against Quaker Oats and its sports drink Gatorade. He traveled the world on business and lived in an ample brick house in an exclusive suburb where he and his wife raised their family. By Nancy Millman. He says he wanted to get out of the business and move to the United States. However, now re-listed for $1.4M, these pieces are up for negotiation. LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. Dean Olds wants his family back in Chicago to believe that he's destitute, sleeping on the floor of a "shack" he rents in a "top-secret" Laguna Beach location, maintaining his strength for much of the past year on a diet of sweet rolls. Hofer stopped returning Hadys calls. I [was] falling in love with somebody at the end of 1992, Hofer said. In the spring of 1993, having sold everything in his apartment which also served as the office of the limo business Hofer packed up his two schnauzers, a giant and a miniature, and moved to Chicago. The jury could have found Dean guilty of murder. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. I had a client there and had been there several times. Sue Olds decorated in a traditional style, mixing new furnishing with many antiques she had inherited from her family. If he was meeting Pavarotti at the airport, he knew how the car had to be polished and how to act. In March 1991, Olds prepared documents that set up the business for Hofer to run. But none of this evidence was presented to Judge Orr at the bond hearing or confirmed officially by police or Goebel. [7], In a 2001 profile on Unsolved Mysteries, it was mentioned that rumors had circulated among locals that the Craig County Police Department had been feuding with the Freemans at the time over the death of their son, Shane, who was shot by a deputy after stealing a car. Then, his partners fired him on allegations of insider trading. I don't think that's fair.". I was his sugar daddy, and I was about to be financially killed.". Yet Dean Olds, a brilliant litigator who in 1990 won what was then the largest trademark-infringement judgment in U.S. history, is optimistic about his future. Dean Olds, who had been named as a suspect, according to his criminal lawyer, appeared at the Wilmette police station on the night of the arrest and was interviewed by detectives. Kragness was in the shower, and Hofer left for Newfelds house to clean up and change clothes. Olds had been a full partner in the firm until being ousted for alcoholism, insider stock trading and other misconduct in the summer of 1993. When people asked about the divorce, she would say her husband was involved with someone. A tearful Lewis later spoke at Martins funeral, which took place on December 28, 1995, at the Pierce Brothers Cemetery in Westwood, California, according to Variety. That life unraveled quickly and thoroughly. "We have not forgotten the fact that he (Dean Olds) owes a judgment, although I doubt we're ever going to find all the money he has hidden," said John Shonkwiler, Suzanne Olds' brother and executor of her estate. For a while, trademark attorney Dean Olds and his wife, Suzanne, led a storybook North Shore existence with their three children. However, Benny fell in love with a Greek woman named Andrea and decided to abandon his maker, who then banished him to Purgatory . According to testimony in the probate case, Olds lucrative career as a trademark attorney spiraled steadily to an end. Though this massive cash outflow is listed on Oldss 1991 tax return as business expenses, the return shows little of the standard accounting for running a business. We had our plan that we wanted to go live in Los Angeles. But first they were to spend a few months with his boyfriends family in the Chicago suburbs. Later that year, the Olds children brought a wrongful death lawsuit against him and their father. The judgment, awarded to Suzanne Olds' estate by Cook County Circuit Judge Calvin Hall, falls short of the sum Suzanne Olds' lawyers believe Dean and Hofer spent, although it comes on top of the $2 million in remaining marital assets that Olds forfeited because of his role in the murder. Even when she left the Tri Delta house at Northwestern to live with her husband, her neighbors included sorority sisters and friends from college. Everything was for the children.. Dean is the first of Rory's boyfriends they meet and their expectations were high. [9], The disappearances of Bible and Freeman were profiled on America's Most Wanted in 2000,[10] and on Unsolved Mysteries in 2001. Olds was the picture of a Midwestern lawyer, favoring conservative suits and wing-tip shoes, and riding the commuter train to his office each day. What I thought was just amazing why they produced this to me was beyond me was a whole tape of items, like a cash register tape, with a line entry for condoms. Dean Olds bought him a round-trip ticket to Munich with a May 12th departure date and an open return. [8][13] Following this discovery, the crime scene was reexamined, yet no sign of Bible or Freeman was found. When Marcyan began digging into Dean Oldss financial dealings, he found evidence, according to court documents, of yet more money that Olds had spent: loans totaling $150,000 on his life insurance, $400,000 in bonuses from his law firm, and $350,000 in proceeds from the sale of stocks and bonds. Sue Olds had gone to work out at the Evanston Athletic Club, stopped for groceries at the Treasure Island, and now was at home, about to take her golden retriever, Murphy, out for a walk. Dean is very intense, said a marketing consultant who worked on trademark cases with him. An occasional McDonald's hamburger is "a big night out.". Peach and green were the predominating colors, to go with Kristins long red hair. Just a month before Hofers arrest, a court ruling put an end to the financial strain that had plagued Dean Olds since the receiver took control of his funds a year before. After a divorce deposition in which Hofer was shown this photograph and others, Hofer told another person that he did not like Mrs. Olds, and that she and her divorce lawyer, Carlton Marcyan, were trying to ruin him because of his relationship with Olds, Goebel told the judge. "Many crime victims who have been brutalized don't even realize there is a cause of action called a civil lawsuit," said David Beatty, the center's acting director. It was a crime of hatred, not a crime of burglary or robbery, Goebel said. "Sometimes the whole story doesn't come out at the first trial," said Kimball Anderson, the attorney who represented Suzanne Olds' estate in the probate case. . He knew how to treat big shots in the right way, Olds said. James Dean, only 24 years old, died in the crash. Keep scrolling to see more of this historic Palm Springs property. Prosecutors refuse to say whether they consider him a suspect. Ms. Olds avoided her fathers gaze Wednesday as she told a judge that her mother repeatedly asked her grown daughters how to keep safe. Nevertheless, Olds still was a man whose career was in tatters, whose fortune was largely dissipated, and whose existence was still shadowed by the murder of his wife of more than 30 years. The children have little, if any, contact with their father. I was very concerned about her safety. Newfeld and other gay-rights activists organized a meeting with the gay and lesbian press at the office of Richard Kling and voiced their concerns. On the day that Hady was to photograph him, he arrived with a wardrobe that included a designer tuxedo. "I think that's primarily what the Olds (probate) case was about--getting the whole story out, the truth about who killed Suzanne Olds. He was vacationing in Laguna Beach, California, with Carsten Hofer. In place of business suits, Olds now favors casual shirts, shorts and penny loafers as his workday attire. But for many years, Sue Oldss life was not what it seemed. Today, Dean Olds still drives the Taurus that authorities believe Suzanne Olds' killer took to her house in Wilmette on Dec. 28, 1993. A court-appointed receiver, attorney John Kneafsey, was retained to set up an account that would take in Oldss salary from the law firm and disburse the funds, including $9,000 a month in maintenance for Sue Olds and living expenses for Dean Olds. Mrs. Olds died anyway in a frenzy of violence in her garage. Actor Dain Cain is a doting father, and in an interview in 2019, he said that being a great father to his son Christopher is his number one priority. When they did catch up with him, it was on the boat in Wilmette, where he was sunning with his friends. His future bride, Suzanne Shonkwiler, a redhead with a bright smile, grew up the daughter of a lawyer and a housewife in Monticello, Illinois, a village of about 4,500 people between Champaign and Decatur. Hofer likes to dance all night, Olds said, while he prefers to stay home and go to bed early. Im sure he was tired of playing Monopoly and Battleship, he said. She was very frightened as far as her image and propriety were concerned, said a friend. [9] He was sentenced to 15 years for the crime, with 10 of the years to be spent in lockup. He had credit card debts of about $55,000; he had borrowed $231,000 from Chicagos Northern Trust Bank; he owed the SEC more than $80,000; and he was obligated to pay his estranged wife $9,000 each month. Then he threw it all away for the company of a young charmer named Carsten Hofer. Shortly after 10 p.m. on May tenth, Kragness and Hofer were at Kragnesss apartment and had ordered a pizza, planning to go later to mark Wheelers place nearby. Jared Padalecki was a major part of Gilmore Girls' formative years, where he played Rory's first boyfriend, Dean Forester, but he suddenly left the series in season 5. Newfeld, an artist and long-time community activist, had come to know Hofer through Kragness, who is her close friend. [8] In 2013, it was profiled on the documentary series Disappeared on Investigation Discovery. Then they learned about the Polaroids", "Busick sentenced in Freeman-Bible murder case", "A timeline of the 1999 case of missing Welch girls Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible", "18 years later, finally answers: How investigators solved the murders of 2 Welch girls", "Newly Found Investigation Notes Provide Leads in 1999 Cold Case of Missing Girls", "Search for missing Welch girls turns up empty", "Graphic Polaroids Lead to Arrest of Man Accused of 1999 Abduction and Murder of 2 Oklahoma", "Accused killer of missing teens charged following new evidence almost 20 years later", "Charges filed in 18-year-old northeast Oklahoma slayings", "Man charged in Oklahoma killings says he'll talk to families", "Mother of Lauria Bible speaks to alleged perpetrator", "Still Missing: Inside the Welch Girls Investigation: A Tulsa World Special Report", "Documentary series on disappearance of Ashley Freeman, Lauria Bible from Welch debuts Sunday", "Disappearance of area girls HLN series focus", "Hell in the Heartland by Jax Miller: 9781984806307 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murders_of_Lauria_Bible_and_Ashley_Freeman&oldid=1140845550, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 01:51. 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