Donald Maier, left, and Benny Scruggs, right. (Racine Correctional Institution; Screenshot/WBAY)
A Wisconsin man charged with a cold-blooded murder dating back to 1985 will face a competency test after making a series of surprise statements in court earlier this week.
Donald Wayne Maier, 60, is accused of stabbing 28-year-old Benny Scruggs to death while sleeping at his home on Travis Drive in Wisconsin Rapids. The defendant, long held in a Badger State prison for other crimes, was charged in September 2022 after allegedly admitting to killing Scruggs while bragging about committing the murder of other prisoners.
During a hearing on Tuesday, the defendant allegedly made a series of comments that made news for the court and his defense team, according to the Wausau, Wis.-based radio station WSAU.
Maier told court he wanted to fire his attorney and pursue the case for himself by being his own lawyer. And although it is a right afforded to parties to legal action, such requests are generally frowned upon by judges, especially in criminal cases.
The defendant’s attorney, Timothy Hogan, was blindsided by the request, saying it was the first he had heard of it, WSAU reported. After the for himself ask, Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf cut short the proceedings and ordered a mental capacity assessment.
According to Wisconsin-based NBC affiliate WJFW Rhinelander, no future court date has been set in the case.
Wisconsin law enforcement charged Maier with Scruggs’ murder after a series of jailed witnesses came forward to relay their accounts of the defendant’s alleged boasting about the violence.
“I’m glad I killed that mother f–,” Maier allegedly said in an overheard phone call, a man identified only as Witness 11 told detectives in 2017. During that call, the accused also reportedly said he was glad that Benny Scruggs widow, Yvonne Scruggs, had passed away.
Wisconsin police say the deceased man’s wife is integral to how she initially got involved in the current case – blaming Maier himself for raising her when he contemplated a heavy prison sentence for stalking in hopes of shaving off a few years.
“The resurrection of this cold case was initiated by the defendant. During the last week of February and the first two weeks of March 2012, oral arguments were filed and hearings were held regarding the upcoming jury trial of the accused in Wood County on ten counts of stalking jurors who served on his jury which in 2006 found him guilty of two counts of threatening a judge. that he was considering additional jail time,” the criminal complaint said. “During the stalking case, the accused contacted the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department and requested a meeting with the police chief to discuss the Benny Scruggs murder case in 1985.”
According to that complaint, Maier and Yvonne Scruggs had an affair before Benny Scruggs’ death – a fact long known to law enforcement and a fact that Yvonne Scruggs initially hid from investigators while Maier freely admitted.
As she faced the harassment charges, Maier would go on to tell investigators that Yvonne Scruggs was actually the person who killed her husband and even sought to frame him for the murder.
The criminal complaint against the defendant says Yvonne Scruggs has made several chilling statements over the years in conversations with friends – some saying she was responsible for the murder and others saying she knew who carried out the murder. crime but would not reveal what she knew.
One such interaction is described as follows (emphasis added):
On August 20, 1987, Detective Smolarek and Detective Exner spoke to the now deceased Cynthia A. Reas, who said she and Yvonne had been close friends in high school. About two months before Benny’s murder, Cindy and Yvonne were at the Wood County Courthouse for a WIC program social services function and Benny, Yvonne and Victim 1 walked into the room. Yvonne approached Cindy, leaned her face in Cindy’s ear, spat profanities at Benny and then said that Benny had found out about her boyfriend, but it didn’t matter because she and Benny won’t be together much longer. Then about two months after Benny’s murder, Yvonne called Cindy and asked if she had heard of Benny’s murder, which Cindy had. Then Yvonne said, “Everyone in town thinks I did it, what do you think?” to which Cindy replied, “Well, have you?” Yvonne did not answer.
Maier pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. He also previously withdrew a prior request for a speedy trial.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
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