True Crime Wisconsin

The latest episode of "True Crime Wisconsin" investigates the disappearance of 43-year-old Leya Stewart. She was last seen on foot around 2 p.m. on July 4, 2023, on 43rd Street near 19th Avenue in Lemonweir Township, outside New Lisbon in Juneau County. Stewart left her phone, shoes and cigarettes at a friend's house, and her family says no one has heard from her since.

WMTV's Tabitha Bland sat down with Juneau County Sheriff's Office Detective Shaun Goyette, the lead investigator on the case, more than three years after Stewart vanished. Goyette describes the search, says much of the information investigators have received is hearsay and explains why the case remains a missing persons investigation. He asks hunters and visitors to report anything that looks out of place.

The episode also looks at the family's belief that Stewart did not leave the area alive. Anyone with information can call the Juneau County Sheriff's Office at (608) 847-5649.

On May 1, 1947, 8-year-old Georgia Jean Weckler was dropped off after school at the end of her family's half-mile farm driveway in the town of Oakland, near Fort Atkinson. She picked up the mail and has not been seen since. In this episode of True Crime Wisconsin, hosts Tabitha Bland and Mackenzie Davis talk with Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Det. Sgt. Ryan Viney about the search, a black sedan reported on Highway 12 and two ransom letters the FBI confirmed were hoaxes. They also cover a 1947 confession that was later recanted and a 2013 dig that found nothing. Georgia Jean's case is one of the oldest active missing child cases in Wisconsin.

Ingrid Isamar Valverde-Ponce, 27, was found dead on Jan. 14, 2025, in a field near Sun Prairie after being reported missing by her family. Gerson Blas Noe was arrested, as law enforcement say he was the last person to see her alive. While Blas Noe was convicted of providing false information on a missing persons case, the jury couldn't come to an agreement on charges of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse. 

Donna Mraz was attacked and stabbed early on July 2, 1982, on a sidewalk behind Camp Randall Stadium. She worked at the Bittersweet at 117 State Street and was walking home from her shift when she was attacked, according to archived coverage from News Scene 15, WMTV’s station name at the time.
Police activated a major crime unit following the killing. At the time, investigators said they had no known witnesses.

The debut episode of "True Crime Wisconsin" investigates the October 14, 2020, killing of 24-year-old John Schmutzer, who was stabbed to death on a trail at Devils Lake State Park in Sauk County. Witnesses reported seeing a man running erratically from the scene, a person police have never identified.

WMTV's Tabitha Bland sat down with Sauk County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant Drew Bulin, the lead investigator on the case, six years after the killing. Bulin shares new details about the investigation, including how close a 911 caller came to interrupting the attack, and describes the unidentified person witnesses saw fleeing the scene.

The episode also examines a 2025 double homicide at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas and addresses why investigators do not believe that case is connected to Schmutzer’s death.