Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers’ Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists.

Jon Wiser was one of them.

14th in the series.

Jon Wiser had done odd jobs for 86-year-old Amanda Westphal in her Juneau, Wisconsin home. In 1987, he crawled through a basement window and bludgeoned her to death with a wooden object, before raping her and dumping her body in the woods with a wheelbarrow.

A pathologist testified that Westphal, described by her pastor as a “fine Christian woman,” suffered from a “homicidal assault” that included a blow to the head, strangulation and sexual assault. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Wiser was already facing charges for burglarizing Westphal’s home when he bludgeoned her to death.

In addition to being a convicted killer, he is also a registered sex offender. He’s only 53 years old and is living today in Juneau, Wisconsin.

Evers’ Parole Commission Freed Jon Wiser Early

Date paroled: 08/18/2021 [You can find his parole date yourself by putting his name into this database and clicking “movement.”]

The released killer now lives: Juneau, Wisconsin

Age: 53

Convicted: First-degree intentional homicide, First-degree sexual assault, armed burglary, 1988

Sentence: Life sentence

Wiser is also a registered sex offender.

The Victim: Amanda Westphal, 86

What the Killer Did:

Jon Wiser strangled, raped, and bludgeoned to death an elderly lady.

Amanda Westphal, 86, was found in a wooded area near her ranch home.

According to a 1987 article in the Fond du Lac Reporter, Wiser broke into Westphal’s basement window to burglarize her house. When she confronted him, he hit her “with a wooden object,” raped her, killed her with a blow to the head, and then put her body in a wheelbarrow.

He dumped the victim in the woods. He then returned to her house and stole money and two electric fans, the newspaper reported. He had done work for her before. Wiser had done off jobs for Westphal and was facing a prior charge for burglary at Westphal’s home earlier that year.