Evidence to be reused against convicted killer (UPDATE)

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STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) — Evidence that helped convict a Wisconsin Rapids man of a 2008 homicide will come into play when he goes on trial for the 1984 shooting death of his wife.

Joseph Reinwand is serving a life sentence after being convicted in October of first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting death of his daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Dale Meister, 35 of Wisconsin Rapids. He’s also charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Pamela Reinwand and is scheduled to go to trial in July.

Vincent Biskupic prosecuted the 2008 homicide case in Wood County and will serve as a special prosecutor in the 1984 murder case in Portage County. He filed a notice Monday saying he intends to use statements that Meister made before he died as evidence during the upcoming trial, Daily Tribune Media reported.

Meister had told several people he was afraid Reinwand would try to kill him. Meister said Reinwand told him he had gotten away with murder before and he could do it again, according to court documents. Meister and Reinwand’s daughter, Jolynn, were in the midst of a custody dispute over their child.

Prosecutors are able to submit evidence of statements made by a person who cannot physically appear in court, if the defendant made it impossible for that person not to appear, according to a 2007 Wisconsin Supreme Court case.

Reinwand is accused of killing his wife after the couple went out to dinner in May 1984 because he was angry that she ordered an expensive meal, court documents show. He told investigators at the time that he slapped Pamela Reinwand when they returned home and that she then shot herself with a pistol, according to the criminal complaint.

During the investigation into the 2008 shooting death of Meister, authorities discovered new evidence regarding the death of Pamela Reinwand. They then reopened the case, which had been originally ruled as a suicide.

Biskupic, who’s now an Outagamie County judge, filed the most recent homicide-related charge against Reinwand in August.

Information from: Daily Tribune Media, http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com