43-year-old man charged in connection to human remains found in East Troy burn pit

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: Jan 15, 2019 9:05 AM CST

NOW: 43-year-old man charged in connection to human remains found in East Troy burn pit

The woman told police she didn't see any signs of life and thought she saw blood around the man's nose and mouth. Another witness tells police she heard Neumann tell the woman that he shot the man "over a pack of squares". The two women left the home and when they came back, Neumann was gone. When Neumann came back, the woman says his clothes smelled like diesel fuel.

On January 2, investigators were called to a vehicle fire in Milwaukee. Authorities say the fire was suspicious and identified the owner as Neumann.

When officers went to Neumann's Franklin home to ask about the car, they could smell chemical accelerant. Neumann told police his truck had been with the victim and claimed he didn't know where the victim was.

On January 11, experts investigated the truck and found a bullet hole near the passenger side. Investigators also found a bullet, casings and blood inside the burnt truck.

The victim's girlfriend says he was an employee of Neumann's business, Spot Free Cleaning. Family and friends of the victim say they had not talked or seen him since the early morning hours of January 2.

According to a criminal complaint, cell phone towers pinged the victim's phone near the area of Neumann's home on January 2.

Court documents state the girlfriend of another man who worked at Spot Free Cleaning reported him missing on January 4. The girlfriend told police the last time she heard from her boyfriend was on January 3 while he was at Spot Free Cleaning.

Police conducted a welfare check and found the man's car in the parking lot of the business. Cell phone tower data shows a call was made from the man's phone near Spot Free Cleaning early on January 4. The man has still not been seen or heard from since January 3.

On January 8, a search warrant was conducted at Spot Free Cleaning. During the search, a cadaver dog alerted four separate areas of the business.

Investigators learned the Neumann leased land in Walworth County for hunting. While executing a search warrant on the land in East Troy, officers found a Spot Free Cleaning trailer. Next to the trailer was a burn-pit. The burn-pit contained the charred remains of two separate people, according to the criminal complaint.

Police say security video from the Home Depot store in Mukwonago shows Neumann buying four bags of charcoal, lighter fluid and wood on January 3.

Cell phone records show Neumann's phone was used in the area near the land in East Troy on January 2, 3 and 4.

A forensic anthropologist says the remains in the burn-pit belong to two men, aged around 23-years-old and 41-years-old. Court documents say the victim and missing man are around those ages.

Neumann faces up to 72 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fees.

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Posted: 9:05 a.m. on January 15, 2019

MILWAUKEE COUNTY (CBS 58) – A 43-year-old Franklin man is charged in connection to human remains found in a burn pit in Walworth County.

Online court records show Matthew Neumann is facing charges of first-degree reckless homicide and hiding a corpse.

An arson investigation by Milwaukee Police led to a report of two missing people.

Neumann was arrested in connection to the disappearance of those people. Evidence led police to a farmhouse and land on County Road J in East Troy.

43-year-old man charged in connection to human remains found in East Troy burn pit

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