McHenry woman charged in 2003 murder of husband moved in with co-defendant days later, prosecutors say

A McHenry woman who was arrested last week and charged with first-degree murder in the 2003 death of her husband was believed to have been having an affair at the time with the man now also accused in the case, according to a charging document filed in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, court.

Roxanna Collins,70, was Roxanna Vanderzee at the time, David Vanderzee, her husband of barely two months was found shot to death “execution style” in their Powers Lake home, according to authorities.

She is now charged with first-degree intentional homicide in what became a cold case that was reinvestigated beginning in 2012.

Authorities said David Vanderzee was shot multiple times in the back of his head.

Collins, who is in custody in Kenosha County jail after being transferred from McHenry County jail, was expected to make a first court appearance Monday in Kenosha County. Instead, her attorney, Patrick Cafferty, Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis and a court commissioner met in chambers. When they returned, the commissioner said her case was continued to Tuesday.

John Viskocil, 70, of Genoa City, Wisconsin – Collins’ co-defendant and the man authorities said she moved in with shortly after her husband was killed – was also arrested last week and charged with first-degree intentional homicide. He is being held on $500,000 bond.

According to authorities, on Sept. 23, 2003, detectives from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office said they responded to the Vanderzee home after Roxanna called 911, saying she came home from shopping to find her husband lying dead in a pool of blood, “dropped her purse, and ran outside to the neighbor’s house.”

David Vanderzee was found face down and had been shot five times “execution style,” prosecutors allege. Among details spelled out in the prosecutors’ proffer was that Vanderzee’s wallet was found inside the home and there was no sign of forced entry.

Collins – who met Vanderzee in 2000 on an online dating site and married him July 26, 2003, not quite two months before Vanderzee’s murder – told police she had gone shopping in Gurnee after work and got home after 8 p.m., according to the authorities. She said she “became hysterical” when she found him.

A witness said that Collins had been married multiple times before marrying Vanderzee and liked to play “‘poor me,’” the proffer said.

Viskocil, who was friends with David Vanderzee, was present at the time police arrived to the Vanderzee home. The investigation showed Viskocil and Collins talked several times throughout the day, the proffer stated. Days later, Viskocil told police he’d been at the Vanderzee house between 3 and 4 p.m. the day of the shooting, then later said it was closer to 2 p.m. and he only stayed a minute, the proffer said.

He also said he went fishing from 6 to 8 p.m. that day alone, talked to Collins from the boat, then fell in the water at the dock, the proffer said, adding he then went home and threw his clothes in the washing machine and changed. The proffer said that Viskocil’s girlfriend, with whom he lived at the time, told police he was not wet when he came home but he did throw his clothes in the washer and she “thought it was odd.” The proffer says that Viskocil made statements about Vanderzee being shot to death when such details were not yet public.

Prosecutors said Viskocil also made a spontaneous statement that, “‘Dave is not stupid. He had loaded guns in the house. He never saw it coming.’” Viskocil said he owned guns, the proffer said.

During both defendants’ interviews, detectives offered the opportunity to take a Certified Voice Stress Analyzer examination, which they were told could eliminate them as suspects, according to the court records; both refused.

On April 26 of this year, according to the proffer, a detective called Viskocil and when the detective introduced himself, Viskocil said without being prompted, “I have a lawyer if this pertains to that shooting case years ago.”

“The arrests were the result of continued diligent detective work and investigation, which included a fresh review of the case by the Kenosha County district attorney,” Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Lt. Daniel Ruth said in a news release, which also noted the cooperation of the McHenry County’s Sheriff’s Office in taking Collins into custody.