(Published Friday, January 19, 2007 11:25:59 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Mike DuPre' Gazette staff
The victims of a triple homicide last week apparently were stabbed, based on a list of evidence taken from their home and that of murder suspect James C. Koepp.
Danyetta Lentz, 38, and her children, Nicole, 17, and Scott, 14, were found slain in their mobile home just south of Janesville the morning of Jan. 12.
Koepp, 47, is charged with their murders along with traffic crimes from a chase Tuesday night. The traffic offenses are second-offense drunken driving, recklessly endangering safety, knowingly fleeing an officer and having open intoxicants in a vehicle.
Koepp was to appear in court this afternoon for formal filing of all charges, including three counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
The victims and suspect were neighbors at Janesville Terrace, a mobile home park at 3315 S. Highway 51, Janesville.
Rock County Sheriff's Department officials have been tight-lipped about the crime's details.
But they have said that autopsies showed the Lentzes died from "complex homicidal violence," meaning each of them could have been killed by more than one method.
Several knives were recovered from the scene of the triple murder as well as from Koepp's home. The affidavit stating the reasons for a search warrant of the Lentz home did not mention guns, bullets or cartridges but listed "knives or any other instrument consistent with a weapon."
While the affidavit for the Lentz home search was filed late Thursday morning along with results of three searches focusing on Koepp, the affidavits for the searches of Koepp's property and person were not.
Search warrant returns-the list of items found and seized as potential evidence-must be filed as public documents within 48 hours of the search. But court officials have five days to file the affidavits upon which judges grant search warrants.
Among items removed from the Lentz trailer by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory and Rock County Sheriff's Department were:
-- A knife and plastic fragments from the living room floor, a knife handle from the living room floor and "knife blade from under victim in living room."
-- A knife from on top of a bed in a bedroom next to the living room.
-- Pruning shears found outside the trailer.
-- A silver pocketknife from Scott's bedroom and a steak knife with dried blood stains found on the floor under Scott's bed.
-- Two pairs of scissors.
Other items removed from in or near the Lentz home-torn cloth strips, one tied in a loop; a man's tie and black electrical cord-indicate that one or more of the victims might have been bound and/or strangled.
Investigators removed various pieces of clothing-some of them blood-stained-and several items indicating police were looking to see if someone cleaned up after the multiple murders. Those items included a scrubber, shower head, toilet handle and seat, towel rack and bathroom drain traps.
The search warrants issued for Koepp's home and car again did not specifically mention firearms but list "knives, scissors or any other instrument consistent with a weapon."
Among the things removed from Koepp's trailer and car were a knife from a bedroom shelf, 10 small folding knives in boxes, a folding knife and scissors from the kitchen pantry, a piece of white nylon rope, boots, shoes and drain traps.
A third search took DNA, hair and fingernail samples from Koepp.
Sheriff Bob Spoden said earlier that detectives think they recovered DNA evidence from the Lentz home and that the crime lab would expedite analysis of the evidence.
Additional material
To view a copy of the search warrant issued in the case, click here.
