A few months ago I wrote about a debate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, regarding the act of necrophilia and whether it was a crime that could fall under the state's sexual assault statute. On Wednesday, the court finally reached their decision, by a 5-2 vote, and banned sex with dead bodies. They also overturned a previous ruling by Grant County Circuit Judge George Curry, in which he had dropped sexual-assault charges against three young men who were arresting in Sept. 2006, for attempting to dig up a woman's grave so they could have sex with her corpse.
For those of you not familiar with the case, the incidents surrounding it were set in motion on Aug. 27, 2006, when 20-year-old Laura Tennessen got on the back of a 2001 Honda motorcycle driven by Thomas C. Sweet, also 20. The couple had allegedly been drinking and at about 3:00 a.m., Thomas lost control of the motorcycle, and they were both thrown onto the roadway. Thomas sustained minor injuries, but Laura was pronounced dead upon arrival at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster, Wisconsin.
When Laura's obituary, along with a flattering photograph, was published in local papers, brothers Nicholas and Alexander Grunke, both 20, concocted a bizarre scheme to dig up her body so Nicholas could have sex with her corpse. The brothers somehow convinced their friend, Dustin Radke, also 20, to help them put their plan in motion.
On the night of Sept. 2, 2006, a concerned citizen called the Grant County Sheriff's Department and reported a suspicious vehicle that was parked by the St. Charles Cemetery. When Officer Brent McDonald arrived on the scene, he observed Alexander Grunke walking towards the vehicle. According to the criminal complaint, Grunke was sweating profusely and appeared to be nervous.
Alexander told McDonald why he and his companions had been digging up Laura's body. As Alexander finished his unbelievable explanation, a second patrol car arrived on the scene and together the two units drove over to Laura's plot. They did not find anyone present but they did observe that her grave had been partially dug up, leaving the top of her vault exposed.
Both Nicholas and Dustin had fled on foot when they saw the lights from the police car sweeping across the cemetery, but they were later picked up walking on a nearby highway.
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 immediate ruling. It was not until last Wednesday that the court finally decided to announce their verdict.
"A reasonably well-informed person would understand the statute to prohibit sexual intercourse with a dead person," read the majority opinion, which was authored by Justice Patience Roggensack and three other justices. "In addition, the element of consent is not rendered superfluous by our interpretation. The State is obligated to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the sexual intercourse was attempted without the victim's consent. Simplicity of proof does not make an element superfluous."
Following the verdict, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen issued a written statement, praising the Supreme Court's decision.
"Sexual contact without consent is sexual assault, whether the victim is dead or alive," Van Hollen said. "That's what the statute says, that's what we argued, and that's what today's decision reinforces. Words matter and the Legislature chose its words carefully to extend the sexual-assault law to those heinous circumstances where a dead person is sexually assaulted, whether or not the defendant killed the victim. Necrophilia is criminal in Wisconsin."
As a result of Wednesday's ruling, the 2006 case will be sent back to Grant County Circuit Court. An official court date has not been set; however Nicholas Grunke, Alexander Grunke and Dustin Radke will most likely be arraigned sometime this week.
Only 20 other states currently have laws on the books that specifically outlaw sexual intercourse with a dead body.