Abusive husband took his 15-year-old son along to kill his wife and shoot her friend

Lauren DeWise thought she had found a safe place to live after her abusive marriage ended, but danger was not far away

It came as no surprise when the marriage of Joseph and Lauren DeWise broke down in 2017. They had been arguing in public and, at their home in Bozeman, Montana, the tension was unbearable. Joseph, 47, had accused his wife of being unfaithful and, before she knew it, Lauren, 35, needed a new place to live.

Joseph had two children from a previous relationship, Natalie, then

17, and Joe, 15, and Lauren and Joseph had a four-year-old together. But Joseph made it clear that Lauren was no longer welcome at the house.

In November 2017, Lauren moved in with friends, Ashley Van Hemert and Audria Butler. Despite being away from the children, her new home felt like a sanctuary for her to rebuild her life. Lauren even confided in her housemates that Joseph had been abusive. He was still behaving disturbingly – the arguments continued and he placed GPS tracking devices on Lauren’s car to try and catch her out with other men.

HORRIFIC FIND

As the new year rolled in, it seemed that life was starting to move on for Lauren and Joseph. They were due to meet on January 7 to talk about their divorce. But that morning, Audria returned home to find

Ashley critically wounded on the floor in a pool of blood, pleading for help.

To her horror, Audria realised there had been a shooting. Lauren was dead in her bed from gunshot wounds. Ashley had been shot four times, including a bullet to the back of the head, but incredibly she was still alive. She was rushed to hospital where doctors managed to save her life. Ashley would go on to suffer life-changing injuries – but she’d survived an inexplicable attack.

When investigations began, officers were quick to ask Joseph where he was the night that Lauren and Ashley were shot. He said he’d been at home watching films with his kids and they backed up his story. The police weren’t convinced he was telling the truth.

They found all the chilling texts between Joseph and Lauren that outlined just how toxic their relationship had become. Police found dozens of recordings on Joseph’s phone that he’d made of the altercations between him and Lauren. Halfway through one, he can be heard threatening Lauren several times. ‘I will kill you,’ he told her. Then Joseph’s teen children changed their story. They said they had been too scared to tell the truth before, but they were willing to now. Joseph was arrested just days after the attack and charged with killing his estranged wife and shooting her housemate. He pleaded not guilty.

The trial in 2019 was full of shocking revelations but first, Joseph continued to tell the court he was innocent. He testified and recalled his relationship with Lauren that was full of ‘good times’. When he was asked about the recordings he’d made of their arguments, and the threats to kill her, he grew defensive.

‘I never threatened my wife in any way like that… I’m not that kind of person. I respect and I loved her strength and her individuality,’ he said.

Joseph denied going to the house and shooting Lauren and Ashley.

‘I don’t remember doing a lot that day,’ he said. ‘I was sick and I would doze on and off throughout the day and I’d be on my phone.’

On further questioning, he became angry and insisted that he wasn’t a controlling person. ‘I don’t even know how to do that,’ he said. ‘And anybody who knows me knows that.’

He said the person who did the shooting was still out there. ‘I have been falsely accused here. I didn’t do

Lauren was dead inherbed… Ashley had been shot in the back of the head