Man Accused of Homicide and Arson in Waukesha

Around the block from Bethesda Elementary School, and across the street from a playground in Merrill Crest Park, a home located at 619 South University Dr. in Waukesha stood out among its neighboring houses. 

The brown and beige-colored home, owned by 63-year-old Dennis Huelse, had boards placed over several of its front-facing windows. None of the three vehicles typically parked on the driveway, and inside the garage, was present. Normally an orange 1969 Pontiac Firebird was parked inside the garage. In the driveway would be a Chevy Trailblazer and a work van used for Huelse’s duct cleaning business.

Charred wood and burnt debris kept the lid of one garbage bin open. The contents of stuffed trash overflowed and extended to a pile of burnt wood which rested atop reflective black trash bags. Most of the home’s damage is seen from its southeast side where the portions of exposed siding offer a view of the interior roof of the upper floor. To the right of the home, the neighboring house was intact and full of life. Dogs barked from the inside and several cars filled the driveway.

On Nov. 27, a little over two months from the Sept. 26 date that Waukesha Police and Fire departments sped to Huelse’s  burning home, 20-year-old Amani Swanel Tobias Smith was escorted and seated in front of a judge for a pretrial hearing. Smith would face four counts: first degree intentional homicide; use of a deadly weapon; arson of building; mutilating a corpse; operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent. 

One neighbor, Todd Weber, went to the back of Huelse’s house where he opened a patio door and was bombarded with smoke and heat from the fire. Damage shown on the exterior of the house led firefighters to the originating source of the flame. In the southeast bedroom of the residence, firefighters discovered the burned corpse of Huelse.

The Pretrial Hearing

Many of the families and friends of the various defendants who had a scheduled hearing on Nov. 27 looked around the room for an answer to their shared question. Many of them wondered, “What are all of these cameras here for?”

The front row seating aisle of courtroom C266 was crammed with tripods and cameras. Just behind the glass, media positioned their cameras for an optimal view. A sheriff unlocked the door, entered the room with only his head and shoulders, and let the media know that Smith’s pretrial hearing was scheduled first.

Listen to a portion of the pretrial:

“Your honor, I’m not aware of any prior record for this defendant but these charges are obviously extraordinarily serious,” said Attorney, Paul Crawford. “If I did my math correctly, life plus an additional 63 and a half years gives, that alone gives him a reason why he might flee the jurisdiction of the court.”

“The strength of the state’s case is very, very strong,” said Court Commissioner Kevin Costello during the pretrial hearing. “It is likely that incarceration is absolute for the remainder of your life if found guilty for count one alone. The other matters, I think, are very strong cases as well.”

After a little more than six minutes, the hearing was over. Smith’s bail was set for $500,000. Smith was ordered not to possess any firearms or apply for a passport. As members of the media packed their gear, many of the general public in the room wore shocked looks on their faces as they waited for the next hearing to begin.

Responding to the Scene 

When Engine #1 of the Waukesha Fire Department arrived at Huelse’s burning home at about 5:05 a.m., firefighters forced their way past the front door and into the southeast bedroom, according to the criminal complaint who was it charging?. The oven was on in the kitchen, but no traces of cooking were found. Neighbors reported the fire after they witnessed fire breaching the windows of the home’s upper floor.

 “Based on training and experience, it is common for arsonists to attempt to mask the origin and cause of fires by turning on appliances,” the complaint said.

During the autopsy, no traces of soot or carbon monoxide were found in Huelse’s body. The blade of a knife was found in his neck wow. The oven in Huelse’s home was set to 500 degrees. With a missing iMac, collector’s vehicle and evidence consistent with an attempt at covering up a murder, the case was classified as a homicide investigation. During the investigation, a gas can with traces of Huelse’s blood was found in the garage.

The Criminal Complaint

“The evidence of homicide and theft supports data that at least one person was present at the location and approximate time,” according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint referenced several statistics that provided context to the crimes that were believed to have taken place during the early morning of Sept. 26.

“Homicides are also uncommon events when compared to the overall population of the United States. According to the Census Bureau, the United States population in 2017 was an estimated 326,213,213. The FBI reported the number of homicides for 2017 was an estimated 17,284. According to these statistics, approximately .00005% of the United States population died of homicide in 2017.”

“Research has shown that residential structure fires are relatively uncommon events when compared to the number of residential units located in the United States. According to the National Fire Administration, there were 379,000 residential structure fires in the United States in 2017. Meanwhile, the United States Census Bureau reported 137,384,707 residential units existed in the United States in 2017. Therefore, approximately .276% of the housing units in the United States experienced a reported fire in 2017.”

These statistics, when considered in context to Smith’s four charges, show how uncommon the fire and alleged murder of Huelse on Sept. 26 are.

Examining the Text Messages

Destiny Tims, referenced to as a known associate of Smith by the criminal complaint, allegedly had text conversations in the hours following the fire with Smith. From the criminal complaint:

The text conversation begins with a text sent from Tims to missing word phone number Smith: “His house made the new fr what they say.” Tims subsequently receives two news media attachments from Smith, which are links to news stories on the internet. Tims received the following three texts from Smith: “Just this” “Everything tht was in tht room is burned down” “lncluding his phone.”

Tims sent the next two texts to Smith: “He gone fr” “Mani” Tims received the following text from Smith: “Yea” Tims sent the following two texts to Smith: “When you bussing that move with the old school” “And that[‘]s gone look funny cause everything ain[‘]t burnt down but his old school gone.”

Tims received the following text from Smith: “l posed to be meeting up w/ sumbody who maybe buy it later on today” Tims sent the following text to Smith: “They seem legit?” Tims received the following text from Smith: “He a close family friend, been knowin my dad for years now” Tims sent the following text to Smith: “Okay coo shit how much he offering?” Tims received the following text from Smith: “He needa see it in person he said thts why we meeting later on.”

After the Pretrial

Three court meetings have occurred since the pretrial. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19 at 10 a.m in room C266. Back at 619 South University Dr., the brown and beige house sits uninhabited with exposed portions of roof and boards still pinned to its windows. Dennis Huelse’s family created a GoFundMe following his death.

“We have already received so much love and support from family and friends,” wrote Jen Huelse Salisbury on the GoFundMe page. “My sister Tricia’s family could really use your support to help get their now larger family on track while we also sort through everything that must be done for my father in his passing.”