Finally my family, which is where it all started. My sister, Janet Mittelsteadt (and her husband Richard), was there, at every moment, to give me encouragement and many enlightening stories. My cousins Richard and Bill filled in some details for me, while their sister Donna, who is a psych nurse, gave me such deep insights I still get chills when I think of them. Cousin Katherine was able to relay several stories from her mother about the murder. And my sweet cousins on my father’s side, who knew nothing of the carnage, but just love me, as I them: Marilyn Nowak, Kathleen Vincent, and Michael Shoemaker. Then, of course, my daughters Solange, Roxanne, and Elizabeth (and their husbands) were supporters throughout, with Elizabeth doing a great deal of background research and also typing up the much-copied and often blurry police reports and court transcripts to make them both more readable and searchable. Aunt Jenylle was there most of the time during the research. I instinctively knew not to interview her, as I sensed the pain was still too searing. Yet she was a beacon of integrity and love, my True North, as I moved forward. Another shining light was my aunt Maxine, who, sadly, died as I was finishing up the manuscript. Her incredible memory gave me important information, and she shared her gratitude I did this while she was still alive.
And then, of course, there is my cousin Shannon, LaVerne’s only natural child (with Jenylle), my fierce partner in crime solving, without whose inspiration and sustained assistance I might have never taken on this project, and I surely would not have gone so deep. We thankfully had many moments of laughter on our journey, often when I would discover a fact that was almost too incredible to believe. “You can’t make up this sh*t” became our mantra.
I cannot forget the dignity of my grandmother in the face of endless loss, who gave me the courage to overcome even the most burdensome of difficulties as I sought to learn the truth. My mother’s pain from the loss of her “baby brother” helped me understand the grief of my entire family. And I must thank my Uncle Vernie for the boundless love he showed me, without which I would not have had the stamina to complete this long, arduous, but ultimately satisfying pursuit.
Although the murder of my uncle, La Verne Stordock, was officially a closed case, many puzzling questions remained. I launched my own investigation to find out what really happened. This is one of my favorite photos of Uncle Vernie. It was taken when he joined the Beloit, Wisconsin, Police Department in 1948.
Photo courtesy Beloit Police Department.
Vernie, 8, with older brother Donald Stordock, 13, in Beloit.
Vernie, age 11.
Vernie enlisted in the Navy on his seventeenth birthday in 1943 and was congratulated by Uncle Gil Stordock, a leader in Wisconsin’s American Legion.
After serving in World War II, Vernie married his high school sweetheart, Jenylle Harriss. The young couple lived near Vernie’s family. From left: Jenylle, Vernie, Leone (my mother), and friend Lou, 1948.
Many of my happiest childhood memories stem from the hours I spent with my cousins in Grandma Stordock’s kitchen. In this photo, taken in 1954, I am on the left.
Family gathering, 1955, in Grandma Stordock’s kitchen. I am in center front; Uncle Vernie is back left; my mother is center right.
Vernie was recalled by the Navy during the Korean Conflict. Here he is at age 25, in 1951, with Navy service ribbons.
My cousin Shannon still treasures the time she spent with her dad.
Vernie loved his career in law enforcement. Here he is shown as a sergeant in the Beloit Police Department, 1956.
Photo courtesy Beloit Police Department.
Vernie was proud of his squad car, Beloit, 1957.
Vernie’s outstanding job performance led to his promotion to police captain. This photo, taken in 1962 at his mother’s home, later ran on the front page of the Beloit News when his murder was reported in March 1970.
Vernie showed his creative side as a weekend deejay at WBEL in Beloit for several years. Here he is on “The Gerry Shannon Show,” in 1960. The title was drawn from his middle name, Gerald, and his daughter’s name, Shannon.
Vernie was trained in the use of weapons both in the Navy and in his work as a police officer. This photo shows him at target practice on a farm that belonged to his sister Leone (my mother), Waukesha, Wisconsin, 1967.
My step-father and mother, Reuben “Pete” and Leone Evert, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, around the time of the murder. Photo by David Kipperman/O’Brien Photography Waukesha, Wisconsin.
My sister, Janet Mittelsteadt, and her husband, Richard, in Waukesha, a few years after Suzanne became intensely jealous of Janet.
Vernie, Shannon, and Jenylle, 1957, during the happy time of their marriage.
Photo by Sharpe Studios, Beloit, Wisconsin.
Vernie, Shannon, and Jenylle, a year after the affair with Suzanne had begun and shortly before the marital breakup in 1963.
The house in Oregon, Wisconsin, where Vernie and Suzanne lived, and where his murder occurred.
Photo courtesy Michael Seeliger.
This is the only family picture we have showing Vernie and Suzanne (left). It was taken in summer 1969, in Uncle Donald and Aunt Maxine’s backyard in Waukesha. On the right, from the back: my step-father, Pete, Aunt Maxine, and Maxine’s son, my cousin Richard. Seven months later Vernie was dead.
Suzanne’s yearbook picture from the University of Wisconsin for her undergraduate graduation in 1974, four years after the murder.
Photo courtesy University of Photo courtesy University of Wisconsin—Madison Archives.
Suzanne’s son David, one year after the shooting, in a yearbook photo from Oregon High School.
Suzanne’s son Daniel, not long before his 1992 suicide.
Photo by Callen Harty.
These two pages show an artist’s re-creations of 3-D crime scene images built by forensic expert Jason Kolowski of Forensic Insight LLC. The images were created from forensic and coroner’s evidence, and laser measurements of the crime scene. The left page depicts the story Suzanne told to authorities. The right page is based on forensic data. All illustrations by Maggie Ivy.
Suzanne said she went to the gun rack, where she pulled down the top weapon, which was 6’ 7” off the floor. She was 5’ 3”.
If Suzanne shot Vernie, the shooting had to take place as shown in this scene, with the rifle fired from hip height.
Same scenario, but from a different perspective.
Forensic evidence indicates David was the shooter, firing either on his knees or with his knees on the seat of a chair and gun resting over its back outside the bedroom, as Suzanne stood in the corner.
Same forensic perspective, this time from behind shooter.
Aerial drawing of the master bedroom and surrounding area, immediately after the murder.
I returned to the house in 2015 and took this photo from where the shooter must have sat. The current owners’ furniture is arranged differently from the furniture in 1970.
From outside the master bedroom I could see the same fancy staircase leading downstairs.
Sheriff Jack Leslie, whom Suzanne called at his home immediately after the murder.
Photo courtesy Wisconsin State Journal Archives.
Psychiatrist Leigh Roberts was the first doctor called in for psychiatric evaluation of Suzanne and the first to give her a diagnosis of insanity.
Photo courtesy Wisconsin State Journal Archives.
My uncle devoted his life to serving his country, his community, and his family.
Photo courtesy of Eastlawn Cemetery, Beloit, Wisconsin.
Notes
1 As a decorated World War II and Korean Conflict vet, my uncle is buried in the veterans’ section of Eastlawn Cemetery in Beloit, Wisconsin.
2 I hired researcher Gregory Smith late in the process, and he was able to get the police reports with fewer redactions.
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With One Shot Page 35