Teen boys find woman's naked body while picking rocks, witness says in court

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin -- A man says two boys who stumbled upon the body of a woman in a Wisconsin field initially thought they found a dead deer.

New details are coming out about the day in May 2016 when 31-year-old Nicole VanderHeyden's body was found, WBAY-TV reports.

On the witness stand Monday, Richard Vandehey said he and two boys, ages 13 and 15, were in the field picking rocks when they made the gruesome discovery.

The relation between Vandehey and the boys is not being disclosed, in addition to their names, as ordered by a judge.

"I was kind of looking, and I said-the boys were further that way from me-and said, that 'Is that a dead deer down there?" Vandehey said.

One boy told jurors, "I just saw white, so I thought it was, like, the belly of a deer."

But Vandehey said he soon put two and two together.

"I was kind of shocked, but I just said, 'Get the hell out of here, you don't need to be seeing that,'" Vandehey said.

Vandehey called police, who found VanderHeyden's body.

She was laying naked in the field, and Sgt. Carl Lau of the Brown County Sheriff's Office said she had blood all over her face.

"Her hair was covered in blood," Lau told the court.

Investigators allege that George Burch, 40, killed the woman at her home before dumping her body in a field three miles away from her home.

A piece of wire is believed to have been used in the woman's murder, according to deputies.

Attorneys for Burch are set to argue evidence will point to VanderHeyden's boyfriend as her true killer.