On Sept. 3, 2006, Detective Sergeant James Kopp of the Grant County Sheriff’s interviewed Dustin, at which time he confessed to his part in the bizarre scheme.
"Complainant is informed by Sgt. Kopp's report that Radke informed him that he had brought Nicholas Grunke to the Cassville Cemetery the first part of the week, that Nick wanted to come down and locate L.T.'s grave, that Nick asked him to help him dig up L.T.'s body so that he could have sexual intercourse with her, that Nick wanted to take her back to a pre-selected location behind his house, that he did assist in digging up L.T.'s gravesite, and that they had stopped at Wal-Mart in Dodgeville on the way down and bought condoms because Nick wanted to use them when he had sex with a corpse," reads the Sept. 5, 2006 criminal complaint filed by Chief Deputy Jack Johnson.
On Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, Nicholas, Alexander, and Dustin were brought before Grant County Circuit Court Judge George S. Curry on charges of attempted theft and attempted third-degree sexual assault. During the proceeding, Grant County Assistant District Attorney Anthony J. Pozorski, Sr., entered transcripts of Dustin's interview as evidence against the three men. Afterwards, the men's defense attorneys argued that the sexual assault charges had to be dismissed, because the law reads that the victim must be alive or that the death must occur as a result of a sexual assault.
Judge Curry ruled in the defense's favor, and the charges of attempted sexual assault were dropped. Instead, the judge recommended the three men be charged with criminal damage to property.
An appeals court later upheld Curry's ruling, however the State of Wisconsin appealed and on Mar. 5, 2007, Assistant Attorney General William Ganser argued that the assault statute should apply regardless of whether or not the victim was killed before or after the assault.
"That distinction [whether the person is dead] doesn't appear in the statute," Ganser said.
Suzanne Edwards, attorney for Nicholas Grunke, disagreed.
"This case involved a body not victimized by the defendant," Edwards said. "When a buried corpse is dug up and (a sexual act occurs), the statute doesn't apply."
The court took both attorneys’ arguments under advisement but delayed making an official ruling and has yet to announce when a final decision will be made.
Georgia is one of only 16 states that currently have specific laws against sexual intercourse with a corpse.
