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Michigan Man Eyed as Suspect in Wife's Death as "Very Odd" Details Emerge in Case
Bruce Moilanen was sending gifts and flowers to another woman in the months before his wife was shot in the Michigan wilderness.
After 35-year-old Judy Moilanen took her dogs for a walk in the woods over the Thanksgiving holiday and never returned, her mother searched for her and found her shot and killed in the wilderness of Ontonagon, Michigan.
At 5:12 p.m. on Nov. 29, 1992, her mother called 911 to report the disturbing discovery. At first, everyone believed this was a tragic accident.
“This is hunting season in Upper Michigan. It’s an absolute must that you wear orange when going out,” George Trick, former news anchor for WLUC-TV, said on Accident, Suicide or Murder, airing Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen. “One thing they noticed is that she is not wearing orange. Because she was found in the woods during deer season, you might suspect that it’s been a fatal hunting accident.”
There were no witnesses who called in a shooting, nor anyone who admitted to an accidental shooting. Officers couldn’t pinpoint where the shot came from. No human footprints were noticeable. The medical examiner was able to narrow the time of death to between 2 to 3 p.m., but there wasn't much else for investigators to immediately go on.
But the day of the shooting, Judy’s husband, Bruce, and her brothers were believed to be hunting. When law enforcement spoke to the family, they immediately got a red flag from Bruce Moilanen.
“Her husband, Bruce, didn’t say a whole lot,” Bob Ball, ret. Detective Sergeant with Michigan State Police, said on Accident, Suicide or Murder. “But he was critical of his wife because he had learned she walked the dogs in the woods that day and wasn’t wearing orange … but I was thinking, ‘This guy just lost his wife and now he’s critiquing her.’ And I was uncomfortable.”
Judy Moilanen was in two accidents in the months before her death
Friends of Judy Moilanen said her marriage was not perfect and told police they had concerns about her husband and their financial issues.
“These financial problems that built up were mostly Bruce’s doing, if not all Bruce’s doing, but she kept that very quiet,” Ball said. “She did not want her family to know about their financial problems because I think she was embarrassed. There were just very few people that she had told that there were marital problems, and she was even thinking of divorcing him.”
Friends also shared Judy had nearly died — twice — in the months leading up to her death in what were believed to be accidents.
“Bruce was working on the roof, and she was on the ground, and an 86-pound cinderblock fell off the roof and hit her … she had some significant injuries and she had to be hospitalized,” Beth Lacosse, former prosecutor in Ontonagon County, said on Accident, Suicide or Murder.
When police questioned Bruce about it, he told a different story.
“Bruce made the statement Judy was on the roof and fell off the roof and hurt herself,” Ball said. “And of course we got all the reports. So, Bruce gave an account that was fictitious.”
Soon after this, Judy and the couple's 3-year-old daughter were home when the house caught on fire. Officers said Bruce had piled woodstove ashes near a firewood pile in the basement of the home, sparking the blaze.
“There was suspicion by a number of people that perhaps this fire and the chimney block incident were not an accident,” Ball said.
Bruce Moilanen had a financial motive to kill his wife, Judy
When police spoke to Judy’s father and brother, they discovered Bruce Moilanen actually wasn’t hunting with them the day of Judy’s death, as was claimed.
“They didn’t really know exactly where he was. And this was a huge red flag. Because the night of the shooting when we were over there, Bruce never said anything. He just let us believe by not saying anything that he was at the hunting camp,” Ball said.
Bruce had several alibis to cover the day of the death, but not all of it.
“There became a very clear chunk of that day that was in the time period that we believed she died that his time was unaccounted for,” Lacosse said.
A motive for Judy Moilanen’s murder became clear when police found $321,000 worth of life insurance for Judy.
“If it was an accident, like a cinder block, like a fire, or, maybe an accidental shooting in the woods of deer season, the holder of the policy would get double the amount,” Lacosse said. “We found that very odd and very suspicious.”
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Bruce Moilanen was trying to spark a new relationship with another woman before his wife died
After Judy Moilanen died, police received a tip from a woman who worked as an EMT at Portage View Hospital with Bruce. The woman claimed Bruce was trying to start a relationship with her coworker, Gayle Lampinen.
“Bruce was making regular stops over at Gayle’s office. Unannounced. For maybe a year or so,” Ball said.
Bruce told Gayle his marriage was ending, and hinted at a divorce.
“Bruce had kind of this fixation, and he would give her flowers and cards,” Lacosse said. “He seemed to like her a lot and put a lot of attention towards her.”
After Judy’s death, Bruce brought a box of Judy’s clothes to Lampinen’s home as a gift. The box included a letter, allegedly written by Judy Moilanen.
“That letter was so freaking weird,” Lacosse said. “Basically, this letter was encouraging Gayle to be with Bruce. But the kicker was the end, because the last line said, ‘Don’t tell the other prospects, but he’s great in the sack.’”
Police did not believe Judy Moilanen wrote the letter, and a handwriting expert determined Bruce wrote it.
“It’s not illegal to be creepy, but this goes toward motive, and the underlying reasons for Bruce to get rid of his wife,” Ball said.
In April 1993, police confronted Bruce Moilanen with all of the evidence, and after claiming he accidentally shot his wife, he admitted to actually hunting his wife.
“He knew her habit. He knew where she was going to be walking the dogs. And he waited,” Lacosse said. “She walked by one time, and he just couldn’t do it. And then he said when she came back, ‘I closed my eyes and I just shot. And then I ran.’ And he confessed to murdering his wife.”
Bruce Moilanen was found guilty of his wife’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. Judy’s brother received custody of his niece.
“He said he killed his wife because she was a tyrant at home, and she was a tyrant at work. She was not a good cook. Yeah, that came out,” Ball said. “And the main thing: he said she had talked about leaving him and he figured he was going to lose half of everything he had.”
Watch all-new episodes of Accident, Suicide or Murder on Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.
