Crime & Safety
Miranda Rights Not Violated in Brookfield Murder Investigation
Tommy Douyette and Lynn Hajny will be tried separately for their alleged roles in killing businessman John C. Aegerter in his Brookfield home last June.
Statements made to police by one of two suspects charged in the murder of a Brookfield businessman will not be suppressed as the case moves forward.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Haughney ruled Thursday that investigators did not violate the Miranda rights of Tommy Douyette, 42, after he was arrested for the murder of John C. Aegerter last June.
Douyette and Lynn Hajny, 49, can be tried separately, Haughney also ruled.
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Douyette’s trial may proceed first, as scheduled Jan. 30. A second trial was scheduled for Feb. 13.
The two are charged with murdering Aegerter, 63, inside the garage of his Brookfield home. Aegerter was president of Air Page Corp. and operated dozens of radio transmission towers.
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According to the criminal complaint, the duo went to the home to collect money they said Aegerter owed to Hajny’s husband. After Aegerter failed to show up to work, a coworker called police. Aegerter was found dead, face down in the garage, his ankles and neck bound with electrical cords, his face duct-taped and several plastic grocery bags over his head.
The complaint says Douyette and Hajny planned to dissolve his body but were later arrested at an apartment in Slinger. No one else was arrested or charged, but a Wauwatosa police clerk committed suicide days after being questioned about phone calls he got from Hajny around the time frame of the murder.
A Slinger police officer and a Brookfield patrolman and detective each testified Thursday about how they interacted with Douyette after he was arrested.
The Slinger officer testified he and other officers had their guns drawn as they stormed the apartment where Douyette was found. He said Douyette cooperated and was taken into custody, told that he was being held on suspicion of a crime.
Brookfield patrolman Michael Skemp testified that Douyette only asked him what would happen next after being taken back to Brookfield. The officer said he told Douyette he would have an opportunity to talk with a detective.
The only other interaction during the ride was to periodically ask Douyette if he was OK in order to check on his wellbeing.
“At one point he said he wanted to talk to Lynn and I said ‘no,’” Skemp said. “He said he wanted to say goodbye and give her a kiss.”
Both Hajny and Douyette are scheduled to appear in court again Jan. 11.
