18 Days Wrongly Jailed: The Nicole VanderHeyden Case

He sat in a cell for 18 days while the whole town called him guilty. He didn't do it. The man who did was invisible... no motive, no history, no place in her life. And 18 days after the murder, trying to look innocent in a minor case about a borrowed SUV, he handed police the one witness that couldn't soften its story. This is the full story of the murder of Nicole VanderHeyden of Ledgeview, Wisconsin: the wrongful arrest of Doug Detrie, the DNA that pointed at a ghost, the phone extraction that sat in a police file for months before anyone knew whose it was, and the trial where the killer pointed at the wrong man one more time. Every claim in this documentary is drawn from the court record and contemporaneous reporting, including the criminal complaint and the Wisconsin Supreme Court's opinion in State v. Burch (2021 WI 68). George Burch was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in March 2018 and sentenced to life without parole. The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, 4–3, in June 2021. Doug Detrie was released without charge and cleared; the jury rejected the claims made against him at trial. Crime From Within covers verified cases with respect for victims and their families. Where accounts are attributed ("he testified," "according to the complaint"), that is exactly what they are. If you track investigations that challenge the easy version of events... subscribe. DISCLAIMER: This video is a documentary account of a criminal case, produced for educational and informational purposes. It is based on public court records, the criminal complaint, published appellate decisions including State of Wisconsin v. George Steven Burch (2021 WI 68), and contemporaneous news reporting. George Burch was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in March 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed that conviction in June 2021. Doug Detrie was arrested and released without ever being charged, and was cleared in this case; claims made against him at trial were rejected by the jury. Where accounts are presented as testimony or allegation, they are identified as such and do not represent statements of fact by this channel. No content here is intended to defame any person or to sensationalize the loss suffered by Nicole VanderHeyden's family. Images and materials are used under fair use for commentary, news reporting, and education. If you are a rights holder or family member with a concern about any element of this video, please contact the channel and it will be addressed promptly. #TrueCrime #TrueCrimeDocumentary #Documentary