Fort Worth man killed his wife and baby boy then staged burglary, gets life in prison
Fort Worth, TX – Craig Vandewege called the authorities in 2016 reporting that someone broke in their home in Fort Worth.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the dead bodies of his wife and 3-month-old son in the house.
Their throats had been slashed.
The investigation showed that the Vandewege’s story didn’t add up at the time as Vandewege himself made it look like their home had been ransacked.
“This is not a burglary. This was never a burglary,” Tarrant County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Lisa Callaghan told the jury. “Why would a burglar ever kill an infant? … It’s absurd. It doesn’t add up, no matter which way you look at it.”
According to the authorities, he was arrested few days after the fatal incident in Colorado while he was traveling to Las Vegas.
Vandewege’s coworker’s testified he had made comments at work about how he’d have more time if his wife and baby died.
Additionally, the suspect claimed more than $700,000 in life insurance since the death of his wife and son.
“All these pieces … show you a picture of only one thing, that he’s guilty,” Callaghan said. “There are no other answers.”
The court records show that the prosecutors were able to prove that he made everything up and he was the one who killed his wife and son and then tried to set up the burglary.
Craig Vandewege got an automatic life sentence without parole when a jury convicted him Thursday of capital murder.