OFFICER DEKLEINE TRIAL/LORI'S MURDER: RICHELLE VANDERWALL 6/09/08

Richelle Vanderwal.

Richelle VanderWal.

Woman testifies she had secret affair with cop accused of murder
Posted by John Tunison

July 09, 2008 18:02PM

The Grand Rapid Press
Categories: Breaking News, DeKleine case, Editors Choice Top
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/07/woman_testifies_she_had_secret.html

GRAND HAVEN -- At the same time Ken DeKleine claimed his estranged wife was having an affair with her therapist, he was romantically involved with another woman, court testimony today revealed.

Richelle VanderWal, once married to a Holland police officer, was in the midst of a divorce in 2006 when she said she met Ken DeKleine and began a relationship that lasted until his arrest for allegedly killing his wife.

VanderWal testified today at Ken DeKleine's murder trial, describing how she met DeKleine in July 2006 and began a sexual relationship that fall, before her December 2006 divorce. DeKleine still was living at the Calvin Street address with Lori DeKleine until she filed a personal protection order in January 2007.

They kept the relationship a secret, she said.

VanderWal testified DeKleine was fixated on doing something about suspicions his wife was having a relationship with her therapist and planned to report the man to a state board. She acknowledged DeKleine was upset and frustrated with the constant rescheduling of court dates for his divorce.

VanderWal said she never came to police after DeKleine's arrest this past January to tell about their relationship. They eventually contacted her.

"I know how police think. I was afraid of being accused of her murder," she said.

In other testimony, police testified they asked DeKleine the same day of his wife's death if he killed her. He denied any involvement.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 11, in an interview room at the Zeeland Police Department, Ottawa County sheriff's Detective Tom Knapp told DeKleine they had found clothes in the garage attic with apparent blood stains. During that interview, DeKleine claimed he left items in the attic while fixing a vent pipe in 2006 and had cut himself.

When Knapp directly accused DeKleine of being responsible for his wife's death, DeKleine replied: "I don't know how to respond to that, Tom.".

DeKleine was hiding relationship with another woman
By MEGAN SCHMIDT
The Holland Sentinel
Posted Jul 09, 2008 @ 11:00 PM
http://www.wickedlocal.com/mi-holland/news/x379985600/DeKleine-was-hiding-relationship-with-another-woman

Grand Haven, MI —
While Ken DeKleine obsessed over the possibility that his wife was romantically involved with her therapist, he was hiding a sexual relationship with another woman, according to testimony on Wednesday, July 9.

Richelle VanderWal testified that soon after she met DeKleine at a campground in 2006, he told her about his martial problems with wife Lori DeKleine.

Ken DeKleine, 45, stands trial this week in Ottawa County Circuit Court, accused in the Jan. 10 murder of wife Lori DeKleine, who was found dead in the basement of her home at 229 Calvin Ave., with a nylon strap tied around her neck.

For charges of first-degree murder and felony murder, he faces life in prison.

VanderWal said she encouraged DeKleine to call her if he needed to talk, and what ensued was a sexual relationship that would continue until the time of Lori DeKleine’s death.

VanderWal said she did not contact police after discovering Ken DeKleine was being held for murder because she was scared they would suspect that she was involved in his plot.

VanderWal said she was in the midst of divorcing her husband, a former Holland police officer, when she began seeing Ken DeKleine.

“I know how police think,” said VanderWal.

“What does that mean?” Prosecutor Ron Frantz asked.

“I would be accused,” she replied.

She said she and Ken DeKleine kept their relationship a secret.

During testimony Wednesday, several witnesses — many of whom identified themselves as friends with Ken DeKleine — said they never heard him mention VanderWal’s name.

Holland police officer Jose Mendoza said that when it came to relationships, in several conversations, DeKleine only spoke about his wife.

“He felt (Lori’s) therapist was brainwashing her and taking advantage of her,” Mendoza testified.
Mendoza said DeKleine also expressed anger that her therapist inspired his wife to file a restraining order again him in January 2007, and called Lori a “creative” writer.

Mendoza and several other Holland officers said that when Ken DeKleine showed up late for a training session just hours before Lori’s body was found, they noticed a cut on his lip.

Holland police officer John Weatherwax said that as Ken DeKleine was asked to repeatedly tell how he cut his lip by different officers, he became irritated.

“It was a slight annoyance to him,” Weatherwax said. “There was a hesitation to his answer — an eye roll and maybe a sigh.”

Ken DeKleine kept his answer consistent each time, saying the lid of a Dutch oven slid off a shelf and hit him.

He continued to tell that story early the next day to Detective Tom Knapp, who confronted him about his involvement in Lori DeKleine’s death.

Knapp said that throughout the interview, DeKleine leaned far back in his chair, resting his head on the wall behind him and made little eye contact.

When Knapp told DeKleine he thought he was responsible for Lori’s death, DeKleine lifted his head and said, “I don’t know how to respond to that, Tom.”

“He stated his wife had overdosed in the past and he believed she could have committed suicide,” Knapp said.

The trial continues the rest of the week.

[MI POLICE OFFICER INVOLVED PERPETRATED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW ENFORCEMENT MURDER SUICIDE]