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Remembering Michele
PdC Man shares story of his daughter's murder by ex-boyfriend
To those who knew and loved her, Michele Hurley is not merely a statistic, but if you look at the Wisconsin Department of Justice Domestic Abuse Incident Reports from 1999, you will find what happened to her listed simply as a number. On Thanksgiving day, 1999 Michele and her boyfriend were murdered by Michele's ex-boyfriend near Milwaukee. "I still miss her every day," says Michele's father, Dan Hurley of Prairie du Chien. She was 24 years old - just two weeks shy of her 25th birthday. In 1999, there were a total of 179 homicides in Wisconsin. Of these, 30 were domestic violence homicides of adult victims. (These fatalities do not include perpetrator suicides committed in conjunction with a domestic violence homicide.) Michele and "Glen" dated for about five years. In February of 1999 they broke up. In late summer she started seeing someone new and that is when Glen's stalking began. "He seemed to have the 'If I can't have her no one will' thinking," says Dan. Glen faked a suicide to try to get her attention. He cut up all the letters, mementos and pictures he had of Michele and left them on her doorstep. He called her up just saying that he needed to talk. She went for a drive with him and he started driving erratically, saying that he could crash the car and kill them both. Michele was very allergic to fish oil Ñ to the extent that she would break out and have trouble breathing if she walked into a room where fish was cooking. Knowing this, Glen smeared fish oil all over her apartment door, her car and in her car vents. She reported these incidents to the police and they encouraged her to file a restraining order. She hesitated, afraid of what Glen might do. Two weeks before her murder, Michele, her boyfriend and her Dad traveled to Arizona for a family celebration. While they were gone, Glen glued the locks to her apartment door shut. It was during this time that Michele told her father about Glen's behavior. When they parted from that trip, it was the last time Dan saw his daughter alive. After Michele returned home from this trip, Glen parked outside of the daycare center Michele's son attended. The daycare provider asked him to leave, and he became verbally abusive. The daycare provider told Michele she would no longer watch her son unless she got a restraining order. When the temporary restraining order was issued, there was a provision included to have all weapons removed from Glen. When the hearing was held for the permanent injunction, the paperwork stated Glen should have his gun taken away, but Michele never stated it out loud. No one checked to see if he still had his weapons. Two days later, on Nov. 23, 1999, Glen killed Michele, her boyfriend and then himself. He had rented a car so that he wouldn't be recognized. He did not have any identification on him or in the car. He had only a semiautomatic 9 mm handgun and extra ammunition. Glen parked the car in the middle of a back road he knew Michele and her boyfriend would be using. He got out of his car and hid. When they stopped for his rental car parked in the road, Glen came out of hiding and started shooting at them in their car. He shot Michele first, then her boyfriend. He then tried to shoot himself, but only grazed his head. He went back to his car and got his extra clips, shot at Michelle and her boyfriend some more, and then shot and killed himself. Michele was shot 11 times. Her boyfriend's four-year-old was asleep in the back seat when police arrived. This incident left behind three bereaved families, Michele's six-year-old son and her boyfriend's two young children. Michele's son is now being raised by her mother, who resides on the east side of the state. Dan says after the murders he began asking why Glen's gun had not been taken from him by law enforcement. He was told that if they had been living together at the time or had children together, they automatically would have been taken from him, but since she never verbally asked, they couldn't take them. Dan says at first he felt passionate about working to get the laws concerning weapon possession changed, but he soon realized that he was in too much emotional shock to deal with that then. Dan believes he is now to the point he can start working to get something changed. He feels strongly about automatically getting weapons taken away when court injunctions and restraining orders are put in place. He also feels strongly about calling domestic abuse domestic abuse Ñ not Disorderly Conduct, Disturbing the Peace or any other name. "When people call it by another name or keep silent about domestic abuse it's like giving permission for it to take place," Dan says. "Abuse is abuse Ñ it doesn't matter if it is verbal, physical or sexual." Dan also believes Glen should have been confronted by the police the first time Michele reported Glen's behavior to them. "Maybe if they would have talked to him after the first incident, there wouldn't have been a second, third, fourth or fifth incident." Dan says when he asked the Waukesha police why they never questioned Glen, they said that they had no proof he had done anything, and that they were collecting evidence. "If someone knows they are being watched they may be less likely to do something else," Dan said. Dan says he still kicks himself for not taking some type of action after Michele told him what was going on with Glen. "I keep asking myself what I could have done to have kept it from happening." "Where do you go with your anger when something like this happens?" Dan asks. "Glen almost did us a favor by killing himself, but where do I go with the anger now?" Prior to this life-changing event, Dan and his wife, Donna Lund, were very familiar with domestic violence. They facilitated a group in Prairie du Chien for those who had been in court for domestic violence charges. Once the funding for the program stopped, they were no longer involved. Of the 30 domestic homicides in 1999, 25 involved a domestic relationship between the victim and the offender. The other five homicide victims did not have domestic relationships with the offender, but were killed as part of a domestic violence incident. Four of the five killed were men. During 1998, 42 domestic homicides were committed. In 2000, 41 of the 176 homicide victims in Wisconsin were determined to have occurred in domestic situations. The average rate of domestic homicide in Wisconsin in 2000 was 2.6 murders a month. In 2000, the 41 people killed in domestic homicides were killed in the following ways: 10 were shot with a handgun, five were shot with a rifle and three were shot with a shotgun. One shot with handgun and stabbed Seven were stabbed. One stabbed and bludgeoned with a hammer One stabbed and strangled One strangled, beaten and kicked One beaten with a blunt object One died of malnutrition and neglect One died of asphyxiation in the womb (the mother was beaten) One victim's body was never found.

It's Domestic Abuse Awareness Month * Wednesday, Oct. 16 - Domestic Abuse Task Force luncheon, 11:30 to 1:30 at Huckleberry's. Topic: "Why Women Return Home" presented by Linda Madigan from New Horizons shelter. Panel discussion featuring Domestic Abuse Coordinator June Hoeger, Police Chief Mike King and Victim Witness Coordinator Gayle Patraw. Call (608)326-0248 for info and reservations. * Thursday, Oct. 17 - Candlelight Vigil at Prairie du Chien Library, 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. * Tuesday, Oct. 29, video presentation "Once We Were Warriors" St. Peter Lutheran Church, 201 S. Michigan, 7 p.m. Everyone welcome.
* Support group for survivors of Domestic Abuse meets every Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Prairie du Chien, all year long. Call (608)326-1616 for more information.
Crawford County Domestic Abuse Hotline (toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week) 1-888-200-8426

German students visit PdC
Twenty-two teenage students from Germany and two of their teachers are mid-way through a visit to Prairie du Chien. This is the second time the exchange program has taken place under the direction of Bluff View Intermediate German Teacher Charlene Farris. Just two days after arriving in America, the students had already noted many similarities and differences between here and their homeland. McDonald's, Pizza Hut and other fast food chains - completely identical. The schools - America's schools are nicer, and much cleaner, say the students. They also noted that back home the students stay in the same rooms and teachers switch, instead of students moving around like here. Schools there do not supply lunches, and there are no cafeterias. Most of the students visiting Prairie du Chien range in age from 13-15. Most of them have had four to five years of English. Gabriele Schrambohmer taught many of the students English and is traveling with the group. She was quick to note that a lot more money is spent on public education here. "The teachers here have so many nice things - computers in their classrooms, videos... Our schools are worn out." She said teachers in Germany are paid well, but they must purchase their own books, and pay for every photocopy they make. They also have up to 30 pupils per class. Schrambohmer says in Germany, the schools are "divided." In fourth grade the students are tested and they then go to a "middle school" and "high school," to prepare them for universities, or they go to a school which focuses on trades such as construction. Schrambohmer also noted that she was surprised to see that the public schools here were all handicap accessible. They do not do that in Germany, partially because of lack of space - they build multilevel school buildings. In addition to school and activities with their host families, the students' activities include touring the Villa Louis and Fort Crawford Museum, visiting Effigy Mounds and Stonefield and Pikes Peak, bowling, and traveling to Dubuque and Madison. "Everyone is so nice and kind here," said German student Laura Hahn. "It already feels like a second home," added German student Christoph Becker. In June approximately 15 Prairie du Chien students will travel to the area the German students are from for a three-week stay. And is there any difference in fashion between the German students and Prairie du Chien? Hardly. "That seems to be the same all over the Western World," said Schrambohmer.Following are the local and German students involved: Will Adamany (Tina Rolig); Devlin Bauer (Fiona Mehler); Megan Davies (Eva Scheffler); Cory Arnold (Jasnina Hanitzsch); Katheryn Floyd (Tamara Paul); Sarah Goree (Patrizia Burdinski); Nicole O'Connel (Laura Hahn); Leah King (Sarah Studer). Reese Petera (Katja Nauheimer); Katie Peth (Annika Gottge); Jon Quamme (Christoph Becker); Ethan Rogers (Inge Hess); Jacob Rohde (Phillipp Straub); Kia Schilling (Daniela Dankert); Devin Shihata (Daniela Panush); Nick Sinram (Philipp Klump);. Jillian Stiemke (Patricia Bargoan); Abby Stark (Julian Horn); Mike Wilson (Daniela Siebt); Joe Winkleski (Sandra Fuchs); Hertrampf family (Mona Eisenacher; Frau Farris (Mr. Wolfram Martin); Mrs. Gladys Brown (Mrs. Gabriele Schrambohmer).

Antique Appraisal Fair this Sunday to benefit PdC Committee for Performing Arts
The Prairie du Chien Committee for Performing Arts (CPA) has come up with a new, unique fundraiser, and it may have a little something to do with CPA Director Terri Connell's love for the "Antiques Roadshow." Those who like watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS will also enjoy the "Antique Appraisal Fair'' on Sunday, Oct. 13, 1 to 4 p.m. at The Barn's banquet hall on Frenchtown Road north of Prairie du Chien. The visiting expert will be Dubuque's Kyle Husfloen, editor-in-chief of Antique Trader publications. Husfloen was been the editor of The Antique Trader Weekly since fall of 1972. He also is the editor of Antique Trader Books price guide series, including Antiques & Collectibles annual price guide. He has been a collector and student of antiques and collectibles for more than 35 years, and has conducted lectures and seminars on antiques since 1974. To make the required advance reservation to have one carryable item appraised (only 60 appraisals will be done), call Lynn Conlan, weekdays, at Cable Car Travel (608)326-6417 or leave message at the CPA office, 326-4444. Items to be appraised must be easily carried, and there is a limit of one item per customer. Spectator tickets are available at Dick's Supermarket and Food Pride in Prairie du Chien and McGregor Pharmacy in Iowa. Fee proceeds will benefit the area nonprofit Committee for the performing Arts. Each year, they provide quality performances by national performers at reasonable prices. They also provide many free outreach programs for the community, including the youth and elderly.