December 26, 2024
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Marengo man pleads not guilty to killing his girlfriend, hiding body in storage unit

Jonathan Van Duyn held in Winnebago County jail on $5 million bond

By Amanda Marrazzo
Jonathan J. Van Duyn, 33, walks into the courtroom for his sentencing hearing before Judge Phillip A. Koss in Walworth County circuit court the morning of Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. Van Duyn, who pleaded guilty in August to abducting his daughter from Walworth County last December, was sentenced to 12 1/2 years, 7 1/2 of which will be served in prison. Van Duyn also faces charges in Illinois for first-degree murder and concealing a homicide death in connection to the death of 33-year-old Michelle Arnold-Boesiger, formerly of Marengo.

Jonathan J. Van Duyn, 33, appears for a sentencing hearing on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Walworth County, Wisconsin, after pleading guilty to abducting his daughter. He is now in Winnebago County where he faces charges of first-degree murder and concealing a homicide death in connection to the death of 33-year-old Michelle Arnold-Boesiger, formerly of Marengo. (Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

A Marengo man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges alleging he killed his girlfriend in late 2020 and hid her remains in a U-Haul storage unit in Roscoe.

Jonathan Van Duyn, 34, is being held on $5 million bond in the Winnebago County jail, but even if he posted the required $500,000, he would be returned to a Wisconsin prison where he is currently serving an unrelated sentence.

Van Duyn pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide in the death of Michelle Arnold-Boesiger, formerly of Marengo.

He faces a maximum of 60 years in prison if convicted on the murder charge. The concealment of a homicide charge carries a maximum of five years. He also faces a fine of up to $25,000.

In February, Van Duyn was transferred to Winnebago County from Waupon Correctional Center in Wisconsin where he was serving a 12 1/2 year sentence for interfering with child custody related to abducting his 10-year-old daughter from her mother’s Wisconsin home.

Michelle Arnold-Boesiger, 33.

Michelle Arnold-Boesiger, 33. (Photo provided by Chris Szymanski)

Van Duyn was accused of traveling with her to a campsite in Indiana in December 2020 and concealing her whereabouts for several days. The girl, who Van Duyn had visitation rights to, was found unharmed about three days later.

Authorities alleged in court records that just weeks prior to the abduction, Van Duyn killed 33-year-old Arnold-Boesiger and hid her body. But her remains were not discovered until March 2, 2021, about four months later, and after Van Duyn was in custody in Wisconsin on the abduction charge, according to authorities.

Van Duyn faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted in the woman’s death, said Ken LaRue, first assistant of the criminal division of Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office. If he is found not guilty, he would be returned to Wisconsin to serve out his sentence for the abduction case, LaRue said.

Van Duyn is due back in court July 1. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Collin Evans, is reviewing “1,500 pages of reports and multiple disks” provided by the state, LaRue said.

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