Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Two years after human remains were found in the town of Richmond, and one year after they were finally identified as Heather Szekeres, of Shawano, authorities have yet to refer any charges in the homicide.
Yet that case has been linked, perhaps circumstantially, to the child sex assault conviction of a former Shawano bar operator who was sentenced earlier this week.
Darwin R. Davis, 48, without any solicitation, made the connection himself during his testimony at his sex assault trial in November, maintaining that some of the testimony against him was the result of an affair he had with Szekeres.
Szekeres, 32, was expected to be a witness for the prosecution in the sex assault case before she disappeared in June 2013 after last being seen at the Final Lap Tavern, the bar Davis operated.
The alleged link became more pronounced at Davis’ sentencing Tuesday, when the father of the victim in the sex assault case called Davis the prime suspect in the Szekeres homicide.
“Mr. Davis is the primary person of interest in the murder of Heather Szekeres,” he said.
“Personally, I don’t think it was a coincidence that her remains were found 1½ miles from our home,” he said. “I don’t know if this was supposed to be a covert warning to my daughter to drop the charges, ‘or this might happen to you.’ But obviously it didn’t work if that was the case.”
Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber would not comment on the claim, saying only that the case was under investigation and was being handled by the state Department of Criminal Investigations.
The DCI has not divulged any information about the case.
Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl directed questions to the district attorney’s office, which had no comment.
The Szekeres homicide investigation came up unexpectedly in November during Davis’ cross-examination in the sex assault trial.
Shawano-Menominee County Assistant District Attorney Catharine White asked him why his own daughter, as well as Heather’s husband, Robert Szekeres, and Heather’s mother, Laurie Waddell, all say Davis admitted to them that he was having sex with the girl.
“Rob’s wife had come up missing, and they believe that I had something to do with it,” Davis said.
Davis claimed he had a sexual affair with Heather Szekeres, citing it as another reason for Robert Szekeres’ statements and the testimony against him.
“As for Rob, one of the women I was engaging in sex with was his wife in the basement of the bar,” Davis said.
White noted that Heather Szekeres had given a statement against Davis to authorities investigating the sexual assault case.
That statement was not presented to the court, but White showed Davis the statement signed against him by Robert Szekeres, which was dated in April 2013, two months before Heather disappeared.
She suggested Davis’ rationale for Robert Szekeres’ and Laurie Waddell’s motivations didn’t fit the timeline.
“You’re aware that Heather didn’t disappear until June of 2013, correct?” she said. “You’re aware that you’re the last person who saw her in June of 2013?”
Davis denied being the last person to see Heather Szekeres.
Davis was found guilty after a weeklong jury trial in November of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl in the basement of the Final Lap and on multiple occasions at his home in 2012.
He was sentenced Tuesday to more than 20 years in prison on four counts of child sexual assault and an additional 1½ years on two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child for trying to get his two children, who were 13 and 11 at the time, to lie to authorities about his relationship with the girl.
Davis will also have to serve 10 years of extended supervision after his prison sentence.
Davis was also sentenced on a number of other counts, including felony counts of possession of marijuana and bail jumping, and misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and resisting or obstructing an officer. Those sentences were imposed concurrently with the others.