NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) A Neenah cold-case may have just gotten harder to solve. James Asmuth passed away this week. He was 92. Though never charged, Asmuth was a suspect in the 1984 shooting death of his wife, Helen.
July 31st, 1984: what happened in an affluent Neenah neighborhood remains a mystery to this day.
Wealthy industrialist James Asmuth told police a masked man broke into his home, held his wife Helen at gunpoint and later shot her in the heart and fired two rounds into Asmuth's stomach. Investigators say evidence collected at the scene never matched his account of events. DNA was processed again in 2009 - with no answers. Even after his passing, Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson says Asmuth remains a suspect... but solving the case may be more difficult. "Any information he might have been able to tell us - new information - that opportunity is forever gone," he says.
After his wife's death, Asmuth became a Deacon and was a co-founder of a Menasha-area food pantry. He was the CEO and President of what is now known as SCA Tissue. He retired there 30 years ago. The mystery about what happened to Helen remains and so does the speculation. "There are two camps of people. There are those who say he was a great leader - he certainly did a lot of great things. And there are those who say the man should be in jail," adds Wilkinson.
The murder weapon in this case... has never been found.
Asmuth is survived by 7 children, 20 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Funeral services are scheduled for Monday.
