Intruder shot by Early woman turns out to be family friend By JONATHAN ROOS Register Staff Writer 12/16/2001 Early, Ia. - Michael Roberts plans to speak at Monday's funeral of Dustin Wehde, a family friend who, in a bizarre twist, was shot to death by Roberts' wife, Tracey, after she was assaulted by two intruders in their home Thursday night.
"I'd taken him under my wing to help him out," Michael Roberts said Saturday, promising to reveal more at the funeral for Wehde, 20, of Early.
Preliminary results from the state medical examiner show that Wehde died of multiple gunshot wounds. Roberts has posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the other intruder, who escaped on foot.
Authorities have released a description of the suspect but were saying little else Saturday about the case.
Roberts said he believes the other man was behind the attack in this northwest Iowa town of 649 and should be charged with attempted murder.
Wehde "was under the influence of the other person . . . the boss," said Roberts, who operates a computer business. He was returning from a business trip when his wife and three children, ages 1, 3 and 11, encountered two men who entered the home, according to the Sac County Sheriff's Department.
Tracey Roberts was choked with a nylon stocking, Michael Roberts said. She managed to fend off the attack with the help of their oldest son, who was armed with a baseball bat.
"My 11-year-old was protecting the two younger children and wouldn't let them in" their room, Roberts said.
Tracey Roberts had severe bruises from the attempts to strangle her, her husband said Saturday. She passed out twice but was able to regain consciousness and remove a pistol from a small bedside safe, he said. Tracey Roberts was treated and released from Loring Hospital in Sac City. The children reportedly were uninjured.
Bruce Wehde said his nephew, Dustin, "was a super friend" to the Roberts family. "They would go to church together. They'd been to paintball-shooting competitions," said Wehde, who lives two houses away from the Roberts' home.
The reward flier offers thanks to a number of people in the Sac County community, including "the Wehde family for their friendship over the past two years."
Neighbors say they and other townsfolk are more careful now to lock their doors after the attack.
"It has been very shocking. I know it happens all the time, but this is a small town and somebody you know," said Ardola Huisenga.
She and her husband, Everett, were watching television when they saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles come down the street.
"It's a pretty quiet town, so something like that really shakes people up," she said. Kenlee Schomaker and his wife, Jane, both members of the fire department's emergency medical unit, were called to their neighbor's house shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. The couple also knew Dustin Wehde and his family.
"There was a lot of blood and spent shell casings," Kenlee Schomaker said. "I have no idea what (Tracey Roberts) went through. She had to go through hell to be scared like that."
Bruce Wehde wonders if his nephew was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I think he walked in on something going on in the house. I think Dustin was coming to the rescue," Wehde said. In the darkness and confusion, "he ended up getting shot for mistaken reasons."
Dustin Wehde's funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Early Methodist Church.
Reward offered
INFORMATION: Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Michael Roberts at this e-mail address: reward@xellex.com. People can also contact the Sac County Sheriff's Department at (712) 662-7127 or the Early Police Department at (712) 273-5283.
DESCRIPTION: The intruder who fled was described as 25 to 35 years old, almost 6 feet tall, with a slender build and dark, wavy hair.
It's never the 'bad guy's fault, is it? Maybe Dustin just fell in with the wrong crowd. Either way, it was his own fault he was at the house. I don't think the lady would have shot someone coming to help. After all, if she knew this guy, she would have known IF HE WAS THERE TO HELP or not!
And kudos to her 11 yr. old son who was willing to help, and probably ended up saving ALL their lives by giving his mom a chance to get free and get the gun.
Smart move on their part. There's something screwy with this case, at least as it's presented in the press.
What the husband says and what the dead guy's uncle say are two different things:
Wehde "was under the influence of the other person . . . the boss," said Roberts, who operates a computer business.
"I think he walked in on something going on in the house. I think Dustin was coming to the rescue," Wehde said. In the darkness and confusion, "he ended up getting shot for mistaken reasons."
One of them suggests he was in the house with the intruder, the other suggests he may have just happened to walk in when the intruder was there.
I hope the sheriff checks out every possibility, including the fact that the husband may be involved. It doesn't sound to me like these were just burglars. They were really trying to kill this woman, elsewise, wouldn't you think they'd take off with the boy swinging the baseball bat? Or, if they didn't want witnesses, why wouldn't they try to kill the boy, too?
Tracey Roberts had severe bruises from the attempts to strangle her, her husband said Saturday. She passed out twice but was able to regain consciousness and remove a pistol from a small bedside safe, he said.
This makes it sound like this struggle went on for some time, assuming that it's impossible to pass out twice in the space of a few seconds. It sounds to me like someone was definitely trying to kill her, and whoever the other guy is, he was either hired by someone else who wanted her dead, or he himself knew her personally and had some grudge against her. Maybe he wanted to sleep with her and she turned him down. I would definitely check out the finances of the husband and his computer business.
Something is definitely wrong with this picture. I hope the authorities check out the husband, the dead guy's history, and whoever the missing guy is (I have no doubt they'll catch him--small town like that).