Larry Anstett’s Murder Unsolved After 50 Years

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Photo Courtesy of Larry Widen

Larry Anstett marker

In 1974, a 15-year-old newspaper carrier saw a colorfully wrapped package sitting on the roof of a nearby car. He touched the box and an instant later it exploded in his face. Larry Anstett was dead before he hit the ground. One eye was torn from its socket, and his face was burned beyond recognition. The blast tore both hands from Larry’s wrists, and metal shrapnel shredded his lungs, windpipe and heart. His body sustained more than 200 wounds. Larry died on the spot, falling face down by the car.  An anonymous witness said that 30 seconds after the explosion, a white pick-up truck pulled away from the curb and sped down N. 83rd Street. A shovel and broom were sticking from the rear.    

Michael Vermilyea raced from his home when he heard the explosion. His 1971 Oldsmobile was on fire and pieces of it were scattered on the lawn along with Larry’s body. He immediately knew the deadly bomb was meant for him. Vermilyea was a member of a local motorcycle group known as Heaven’s Devils. He was marked for death after he provided police with facts pertinent to a violent gang war with another motorcycle club called the Outlaws. “They knew where I lived,” Vermilyea later told police. “It was supposed to be me who got killed, not an innocent kid.” The Milwaukee Sentinel posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Larry’s killers. Vermilyea ‘s father added $1,000 to the Sentinel’s reward.  

Cold Case

After Larry’s murder, two police detectives were assigned to work the case full-time, following up leads and interviewing people of interest. Some members of the Outlaws blamed the paperboy for picking up the package. But after a year, the case went cold due to a lack of evidence and people refusing to talk for fear of retaliation and the detectives were assigned to other cases. Officer Roger Hinterthuer submitted a comprehensive report that contained detailed information on potential informants unwilling to share what they knew.  

In 1984, Hinterthuer noticed a trend of murders tied to the Outlaws, the killings all unsolved. At last, an individual came forward to give an official statement. The information was shared anonymously with the guarantee of the informant entering the witness protection program. After hours of interviews, Hinterthuer’s efforts resulted in an elusive person named John. People were terrified of the ex-con who had been convicted of rape as well as operating a car theft ring that extended to neighboring states. Several persons described Buschman as the Outlaws’ enforcer, an extremely dangerous individual who eliminated anyone who talked about club members. When Outlaw Joe Stoll, told his stripper girlfriend about Larry Anstett’s murder, he disappeared.  

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Photo Courtesy of Larry Widen

Larry Anstett (1974)

Anonymous Source 

Cliff Marchan was arrested when a crate of TNT and blasting cops were found on his property. After Marchan agreed to tell police what he knew, the Outlaw also disappeared. Buschman and Stoll had been seen sitting in a white a pickup truck parked in the dirt driveway. In the back of the truck were a shovel and a broom. Later an anonymous source told Hinterthuer that Stoll may have been buried under the farm’s chicken coop. 

Twenty-two-year-old Michael Drozac was arrested for reckless driving and a few days later he was found on the kitchen floor of his Washington County home with a bullet in his back. Upstairs police discovered the body of Sandy Drozac and her 10-year-old son, Brock. Both had bullets in the back and Brock had been shot in the head.  

Acting on information provided by a confidential source, detective Hinterthuer brought a forensic team to search land owned by John Buschman’s uncle. An arm, some teeth, and a skull believed to be Marchan’s were found in a hole and covered with lime. Twenty years after Larry Ansett’s death, detective Hinterthuer brought a staggering amount of evidence to Paul Bucher, the newly appointed Waukesha County District Attorney. Included in his presentation were transcripts from individuals who believed Machan and Stoll were co-conspirators in the Anstett murder including proof the bomb had been assembled on Marchan’s farm. Bucher was skeptical and declined to take the case. Hinterthuer wondered if the DA had been intimidated by John Buschman to drop the case.  

Some individuals connected to the murder of Larry instead have died or disappeared over the years. After 30 years of service, Roger Hinterthuer resigned in 1997. His home was filled with a dozen boxes containing arrest records, photos, interview transcripts, autopsy reports, and more. The collection held damning information pointing to the person who killed Larry Anstead. Hinterthuer said he and the other detectives knew who murdered Larry, but they couldn’t prove it.  

More than 50 years later, the murder case remains officially unsolved.