"I'm not hiding anything:" Suspect in Muskego cold case interviewed in podcast before arrest

MUSKEGO (CBS 58) -- John Bayerl, 78, is facing a first-degree murder charge after his wife Dona Mae Bayerl disappeared from their Muskego home on May 6, 1979. 

On Tuesday, Bayerl was arrested in Fort Myers and appeared in Waukesha County Court on Thursday. 

He did an interview with the podcast, The Vanished, which is dedicated to covering missing person's cases.

One of Dona Mae's daughters reached out for the podcast to cover the case. Dona Mae's daughters, her sister, and the detective on the case were also featured. The first episode focuses on the events leading up to the disappearance and the months after. The second episode dives deeper into the relationships of the cases and the case leads. Finally, in the third episode, it talks about the latest in the case as of June 2018 and everyone's process in moving forward. 

John is featured in the third episode and throughout it, he was careful with what he said, saying he couldn't share too much about the case. 

“Like I said, I can't go into details now because I could possibly get myself in trouble," said Bayerl. 

The interviewer asked what he thought happened to Dona Mae when she disappeared. 

"They have not come up with any answers so my personal thought is that something drastic probably did happen to her," he replied. 

He said he had nothing new to share with investigators. 

"I am very concerned. Also, I’ve wondered all these years what happened to her and I would also like to know so I have no problems with my daughters and other family looking into the situation because I would like to know the answers myself," Bayerl said. 

John was certain of one thing that Dona Mae was a good mother and he reiterated that throughout the interview.

"...she was a good mother and she would never have voluntarily left her children," Bayerl said. 

At the end of the interview, the podcaster thanked him for his time and he ended by saying. 

"I am not hiding anything and I have no reason not to.”

To listen to the full podcasts, click here.