Tuesday, January 4, 2022

The Disappearance and Murder of Heather Szekeres

 

Heather Szekeres disappeared in Shawano, Wisconsin during the early morning hours of June 22nd, 2013. The then-32-year-old was last seen by family and friends at a local bar called Final Lap. Heather lived just yards away from the bar, in a downtown apartment that she shared with her husband, Rob Szekeres, and their infant daughter. 

Heather's mother, Laurie Waddell, lived with the couple as well.
Laurie was at Final Lap with Heather on the evening of June 21st but left the bar around 1:00 AM. Heather decided to stay behind. Reports state she was later seen leaving the bar around 2:00 AM - but she unfortunately never made it home. Heather's husband Rob reported her missing two days later. 

The investigation into Heather's disappearance had a slow start. Initially, the Shawano Police made it clear that they believed Heather was voluntarily missing. They cited that it was not unusual for Heather to leave home for periods of time -which is reportedly why her husband waited two days to report her missing. 

Police reiterated this belief at the six-month mark of Heather's disappearance, despite the fact that there had been absolutely no sign of Heather. After that, the case went cold. Police gave very few updates, and news about Heather's case was scarce. 

In May of 2014, human remains were found in a wooded area behind Peach Road. The remains were located in an area 2.5 miles away from Final Lap, where Heather was last seen. Due to this, many speculated that the remains belonged to her. It took nearly a year for a positive identification, but in April 2015, it was confirmed that the remains did, in fact, belong to Heather Szekeres. An autopsy was unable to determine her exact cause of death, but her manner of death was labeled a homicide.

Heather's loved ones were shocked and inevitably devastated by the news of her death. Many began to criticize the Shawano Police Department for not organizing search parties after Heather was reported missing. Many also began to speculate about who might have been responsible for Heather's death. A closer look into Heather's life around the time of her disappearance reveals a couple different theories.


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Looking into the spouse.

In 99.9% of missing persons and murder cases, investigators look into the spouse/significant other of the victim. Heather's case was no exception, even though Shawano Police initially thought that she was voluntarily missing. Just a few weeks after Heather's disappearance, Rob Szekeres posted on Facebook that he had been questioned and had cooperated with police. He also wrote that he, too, believed that Heather had left him. 

Rob Szekeres

Rob also seemingly responded to criticisms that he was not actually looking for his wife. He wrote, "I love my wife dearly and wish she would just come home. I have a very demanding job that I have to keep doing in order to support my daughter. If I could, I'd be home everyday helping everyone with locating my wife but I can't."

Rob remained adamant that he was not a suspect in Heather's case. However, the couple had faced some serious marital struggles in the months leading up to Heather's disappearance. In 2012, the couple separated amidst a pile of financial troubles. In October 2012, Heather sued Rob for child support. Court documents state that they had been separated for months by that point--but by December 2012, they were seemingly back together. 

On December 5th, 2012, Heather called 911 to report Rob for domestic violence. When an officer arrived at their apartment, Heather said that she and Rob were arguing when he grabbed a pillow and struck her in the face with the zipper on the pillowcase. Heather's injuries were minor, but she still decided to press charges. She stated that Rob had been physical with her in the past and she wanted to put an end to it. In January 2013, Rob was given a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence battery and was fined $506. 

By June 2013, it appeared that Rob and Heather's relationship was in a better place. In fact, Heather posted a picture of her and Rob to her Facebook page just hours before she vanished.


Although Rob insisted that he had nothing to do with Heather's disappearance, some still speculated that he might know more than he is letting on. Some also felt he did not seem to care that his wife was gone. By the time Heather's body was found in 2014, Rob had relocated to Indiana. 

In April 2015 - the same month that Heather's remains were identified - Rob posted on Facebook that he and his new girlfriend had moved to Michigan. Many found it odd that Rob had moved and seemingly moved on with his life during the time that his wife was believed to be missing. Despite all of this, investigators stated in 2015 that Rob is not a suspect in the case.

Rob with their daughter at Final Lap


Another person of interest.

Before Heather's disappearance, she and Rob were regular patrons at Final Lap. The bar was managed by a man named Darwin Davis. Heather was acquainted with Davis and saw him frequently while at the bar. In December 2012, Davis was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the basement of Final Lap. He later pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges.

Darwin Davis

Heather Szekeres was on the list of potential witnesses who could have been called to testify against Davis during his trial. With this in mind, it's clear that Davis could have seen this as a motive to harm Heather. Various reports state that Davis was out on bond at the time of Heather's disappearance, which gives him opportunity as well. 

When Davis finally did go to trial, both Rob Szekeres and Heather's mother Laurie ending up testifying against him. Both stated that Davis admitted to sexually assaulting the teenager. Davis was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 

Information from Darwin Davis's ex-wife.

Many have speculated that Davis could be involved in Heather's murder. Davis's ex-wife, Sheila, is among those who believe he is responsible. In 2023, Sheila commented on this write-up and provided more insight. 

According to Sheila's comments, Heather and Davis were having an affair prior to Heather's disappearance. As such, Sheila says, Heather actually originally planned to lie on the stand when she was due to testify against Davis. Heather later changed her mind shortly before her disappearance. 


This inevitably leads to even more suspicions against Darwin Davis. However, at this time he has not been charged with anything related to Heather's case. Still, investigators have also not publicly ruled him out.

Where the case stands today.

Investigators have told reporters that they have a suspect, but they have not revealed the suspect's identity. It's possible that Davis is, in fact, their suspect--but this remains unclear. Years have passed without any media updates in the case, and no arrests have been made. Heather's murder remains as a classified unsolved case. 

If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Shawano Police Department at (715) 524-4545.
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Sources:

8 comments:

  1. Was the husband not charged with possession of child pornography a few years later??..

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  2. Ftr, I had only met Heather once or twice, and that's when I set the bar up originally. Bythe time my ex-husband was being charged with his stuff I had already basically moved out of state and only came back for financial stuff or paperwork when needed. I really didn't know Heather at all.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. You are not to blame for your ex-husband's crimes. Thank you for clarifying your relationship with Heather.

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    2. Lol oh I know I'm not. You have no idea what he is like. He won't even take responsibility for what he's done with his current crimes, keeps trying to get out on technicalities. He has a whole slew of crimes the cops don't even know about, including a house fire he blamed on the owner. If it were up to me, he'd sit for the rest of his natural life.
      I'm fairly certain they know he killed Heather, they just don't have any physical evidence only circumstantial. I have asked them about it since then and while they can't answer me directly about it, that seems to be the suggestion.

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    3. Also, you should know that she WAS set to testify in his trial, although the manner of her testimony has changed. First she was going to lie for him and claim that he wasn't sleeping with the little girl because she was having an affair with him. However she apparently got a conscience about it (probably after he got caught trying to force our kids to lie on stand as well) because she came clean. She was going to tell the truth on the stand, for prosecution. Suddenly she disappears and they find her remains less than a mile from where we lived.

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    4. Thanks for all of this information. Out of respect for you, I removed your name from the post. However I would like to share these comments on the post...please let me know if this is okay.

      Also, sorry you were married to such a POS. I'm glad you're no longer with him!!

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    5. It's fine, I technically owned the liquor license otherwise there was zero chance he would even get into the bar business. When the city/county found out I was no longer close enough to keep tabs on him they pulled it. I had already spent close to a decade behind the bar for 20 hours a day basically by myself while he was galavanting around on his motorcycle, picking up chicks. He liked to claim sports bars were his thing, but we were bikers and that was our first sports bar....and I was done being used...and abused. Selling my motorcycle on me wasn't even the most traumatic thing that happened to me.

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    6. Thank you for shedding light. I am so sorry for what you've been through. If you'd like to continue talking privately, feel free to reach out to me at truecasefiles@gmail.com.

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