Preliminary hearing delayed until public defender assigned for man accused of cold case murder
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Dunn County judge has delayed a preliminary hearing until a public defender can be assigned to represent the man accused in the murder of Mary K. Schlais in the Town of Spring Brook in February of 1974.
Jon Keith Miller appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court before Judge Christina Mayer November 21 in what was originally scheduled as a preliminary hearing.
Miller is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Schlais, who was hitchhiking from Minnesota to Chicago to attend an art show. Her body was discovered in a snow bank on February 15, 1974, in the Town of Spring Brook with multiple stab wounds.
Attorney Travis Satorius appeared in court with Miller and spoke about Miller’s application status with the state’s Public Defender office, according to online court records.
Miller had previously requested a speedy preliminary hearing, and Judge Mayer spoke with the defendant about not having an assigned attorney for the November 21 hearing.
Satorius told the court he had talked with Miller about what a preliminary hearing is and his request for a speedy preliminary.
During a preliminary hearing, a witness or witnesses give testimony, and the judge determines whether there is enough evidence to establish probable cause. If there is enough evidence for probable cause, the judge binds the defendant over for trial.
In Wisconsin, if the defendant is in custody, the preliminary hearing must occur within 10 days if the defendant has not waived the time limits. If the defendant is not in custody, then the preliminary hearing must occur within in 20 days unless the defendant has waived the time limits.
Miller made an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court on November 12.
At the November 21 hearing, Satorius told the court that Miller was willing to waive the time limits for a preliminary hearing.
Judge Mayer accepted Miller’s waiver of the time limits and scheduled a preliminary hearing for December 4 at 2 p.m.
Miller requested the substitution of a different judge on November 18.
Judge Mayer denied his request for a different judge on November 19.
Bail was set at $1 million cash on November 12 during Miller’s initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court.
Judge Mayer issued an arrest warrant for Jon Keith Miller on November 7.
Dunn County deputies arrested Miller at his home in Owatonna, Minnesota, on November 7 after Miller was identified as a suspect in the murder of Mary Schlais using a genetic genealogy process.
On November 4, Dunn County Sheriff’s Department investigators interviewed a person who turned out to be the suspect’s daughter, and Jon K. Miller was identified.
November 4 would have been Mary Schlais’s 76th birthday.
Researchers at Ramapo College in New Jersey were able to identify a family tree using a partial DNA profile developed from a stocking cap left at the crime scene 50 years ago.
