Police believe man, sons who washed ashore in Kenosha County may have been murdered

By Dustin Block

Sunday, June 20, 2004 4:49 PM CDT

PLEASANT PRAIRIE - A father and two sons who washed ashore in southern Kenosha County on Saturday may have been murdered, authorities said on Sunday.

Kevin Amde, 45, and his two sons, Tesla Amde, 3, and Davinci Amde, 6, all from Chicago, were discovered on Carol Beach in Pleasant Prairie. All three were found tethered together by a nylon rope.

While authorities initially suggested that the victims may have been involved in some sort of boating accident, they suggested a darker course of events during a press conference Sunday.

The three bodies were tied together by a rope that was run through belt loops and around the waist of one of the children. But police revealed Sunday that two bags full of sand, weighing about 48 pounds, also were tied to the bodies.

"We consider these deaths to be very suspicious and this case is being handled by law enforcement as a homicide," said Pleasant Prairie Police Chief Brian Wagner, who was joined by authorities from the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI at the press conference.

Amde and his sons had been last seen on May 6, and were reported missing on May 11 by Amde's wife, Veronica. Sgt. Stephanie Stuart of the Chicago Police Department said Veronica delayed reporting her family missing because it was common for her husband to take their son on "excursions." Some of these excursions included trips into southeastern Wisconsin to visit relatives, including some who lived in the Racine area.

Authorities discounted any notion that the deaths were related to a boat accident. The Amdes did not own a boat and the Coast Guard found no evidence of a missing or wrecked boat in recent months.

They also offered little explanation as to why the bags of sand were tied to the family. Sand was also found zipped into the pants pockets of one of the boys.

There was no sign of foul play on any of the victims, authorities said, and a cause of death has not been determined. Wagner did say the Kenosha County medical examiner had determined that the time the bodies had spent in the water was consistent with the reported date missing.

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