A former Gardner, N.D., man convicted of using the identity of a man found dismembered three years ago will serve prison time in Wisconsin while Cass County authorities continue investigating him in the death.
Dennis Gaede, 41, completes a four-year prison term in August for theft, theft by deception and insurance fraud and remains the only suspect in 48-year-old Timothy Wicks' death
When that sentence ends, Gaede will serve a five-year term in Wisconsin for aiding a felon and being a party to escape. He could be freed in less than three years with credit for good behavior.
A technicality allowed Gaede to avoid prosecution on forgery charges carrying up to 10 years in prison.
Wicks' body, minus the hands and head, was found Jan. 2, 2002, in the Menominee River along the Wisconsin-Michigan border. Two weeks later, his head was found 35 miles away.
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At the time, Gaede was wanted on outstanding Cass County warrants for using Wicks' identity in 2001 to obtain a driver's license, embezzle more than $9,000 from his Fargo employer and buy a house in Gardner.
Gaede went on the run, and a nationwide manhunt prompted a tip leading to his arrest at a Lincoln, Neb., campground on March 5, 2002. He pleaded guilty later that year.
Gaede's ex-wife, Diane Fruge, has told reporters Gaede shot and killed Wicks in their Gardner home.
North Dakota prison officials signed paperwork in October allowing Gaede's return to Wisconsin's Monroe County to be sentenced on the charges of aiding a felon and being a party to escape. A judge there sentenced Gaede in March.
However, Milwaukee County prosecutors weren't notified, and the deadline for Gaede to face forgery charges passed.
In Wisconsin, defendants brought from other states must go to trial within 180 days.
Prosecutors plan to file an appeal on the technicality, saying North Dakota prison officials didn't sign papers necessary to bring Gaede to Milwaukee for the forgery charges.
Wisconsin authorities are concerned Cass County State's Attorney Birch Burdick won't file murder charges against Gaede because most of the evidence is circumstantial.
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Burdick said Thursday investigators have turned over a substantial number of documents and the case is under review.
"We're pursuing some additional information and then plan to make a determination," Burdick said.
The case against Gaede hasn't stalled, said Burdick, who doesn't have a timeline to make a decision.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this article.
