Denver police officer David Springer reported his daughter missing from nearby Edgewater, Colorado on July 24, 2003. But it took more than a month for her body to be found — and eight years for her family to begin to see justice for her murder. Springer grew concerned that day when his daughter went to her estranged husband’s home with her 5-year-old, Jacob, and 3-year-old, Hannah, but never returned. Heather and Daniel DeWild’s divorce was set to be finalized within days.

“There was this contentious relationship over the kids — the custody of the kids at that time,” Russ Boatright, senior investigator with the Jefferson Co. District Attorney’s Office, said on airing Sundays at 7/6c on Oxygen. “Heather would never leave the kids alone with him in an unscheduled visitation.”

Although Daniel claimed Heather had left his home at 1:30 p.m. and left the kids with him, the bad blood between him and the Springer family raised suspicion. As time went on, he became the prime suspect in Heather DeWild’s disappearance and murder.

“We did find where Daniel had gone on a dating site — putting himself out there,” Boatright said. “He listed himself as a widower. Which was interesting, because Heather hadn’t been found yet. So, how did you know that?”

Keep reading to learn how new technology eventually helped convict Daniel DeWild of his wife’s slaying.

Heather and Daniel DeWild’s relationship turns abusive and leads to divorce

Heather Springer met her first boyfriend, Daniel DeWild, a few years after high school. Her parents didn’t approve from the beginning.

“They were noticing that Daniel was starting to isolate her,” Rebecca Barger, Heather’s sister, said on Fatal Family Feuds. “Taking her away from friends and family. And everything was about him.”

But Heather got pregnant, so she and Daniel married — eventually having Jacob and Hannah. Still, their relationship continued to be toxic.

“Daniel was domineering. Would put Heather down. Make her feel that she wasn’t worthy. No one else would want her,” Robert Weiner, former Jefferson Co. senior chief deputy district attorney, said on Fatal Family Feuds.

As their children grew, Daniel began mismanaging the family’s money. And Heather had other concerns.

“When the kids got a little bit older, she was starting to see some disturbing behaviors from Daniel,” Barger said. “I don’t remember what Jacob had done that set Daniel off. Jacob was screaming, and he spanked him and then locked him in his room. Heather was upset. She felt it was definitely abusive and she needed to protect her kids.”

In March 2003, Heather left Daniel and moved into her parents’ home with the children. But Daniel was unwilling to accept divorce, as well as the child custody and child support payments that would come from it.

“David Springer knew that Daniel did not want to accept the breakup of the marriage,” Weiner said. “Not because there was any lost love, but because Daniel was very much concerned about the financial impact.”

Heather DeWild goes missing and turns up dead

After his wife disappeared on July 24, 2003, Daniel DeWild got an attorney and refused to speak to police. His twin brother, David, did the same.

“Daniel and David have always been absolutely inseparable,” Barger said.

As a suspect, Daniel’s home that he shared with David and David’s girlfriend, Roseanne, was searched. No evidence was found. A cadaver dog did pick up a scent in David’s car — but no DNA evidence was found in it.

“Police told us that. It was a big moment,” Barger said. “I was surprised it was David’s car but I wasn’t surprised that he was involved.”

On August 4, 2003, a resident at an apartment complex spotted Heather’s vehicle and reported it to police. There was no forensic DNA in the car. Then, on September 4, 2003, a Colorado Dept. of Transportation worker discovered Heather’s body covered in plastic and buried in a pile of dirt by the road 15 miles outside of Denver. Her face was covered with duct tape, her hands were tied in front of her, and she had a ligature around her neck. Her skull was also damaged. But her body was too decomposed to determine her exact cause of death.

“Her body had nothing on it that could lead them to who killed Heather DeWild,” said Anastasiya Bolton, 9News crime reporter, on Fatal Family Feuds.

Heather DeWild’s murder goes from cold case to active investigation

Six years went by with no new evidence or leads in Heather DeWild’s murder. Meanwhile, Daniel DeWild and the Springer family spilt custody of the children. In 2009, her family approached district attorney Scott Storey, who agreed to open the case up. Russ Boatright re-examined all the evidence.

“As time went on, it’s like it really couldn’t have been anybody else. My gut feeling was David and Daniel. It had to be these guys,” Boatright said.

By this time, advances in cell phone data meant police could retroactively determine where the DeWild brothers used their cell phones.

“It just so happened that at that apartment complex where Heather’s car was eventually found, there’s a cell phone pinging from David calling Daniel,” Weiner said. “So, David most likely was involved in secreting Heather’s car, which was obviously a big break for the investigation.”

The district attorney presented all the evidence to a grand jury eight years after Heather was killed, leading Daniel and David DeWild were indicted for first-degree murder. On August 4, 2012, David DeWild decided to cooperate with investigators.

“Daniel had talked to him when she first filed for divorce about killing her,” Boatright said. “Daniel was upset about child support payments. Paying for kids’ insurance. And I don’t think he had a lot of respect for women.”

David DeWild admits to police how his brother, Daniel, killed his wife, Heather

Investigators took David DeWild back to the home he shared with his brother to re-enact how Heather DeWild was murdered. David said while his girlfriend played with the children, Daniel lured Heather to the garage — and then threw her to the ground.

“And he takes a mallet off the counter, and as she’s trying to get back up, BOOM, he whacks her. She drops,” David told police on video. “She’s not breathing. She’s not moving. She is badly hurt…He takes his noose, puts it around her neck, and he comes over, pulls on the rope, pulls her up in the air.”

David admitted to dumping Heather’s car in the parking lot while Daniel loaded Heather’s body in David’s SUV. David then dumped Heather’s body by the side of the road.

“The manner in which David described Daniel killing Heather — just the callousness of how they did that. Just the idea that their kids were in the next room, and just the brazenness of it,” Boatright said.

David DeWild pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and in exchange for testifying against his twin, received up to a 12-year sentence. He was released on parole in 2020.

“As close as those two were, it had to be a gut punch for Daniel when he realized David was going to testify against him,” Boatright said.

The jury was hung during Daniel DeWild’s murder trial in November 2012. He then agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 74 years in prison.

“Daniel in my opinion was just evil. He would weekly pick his kids up from the Springer family. Look them in the eyes. Knowing he murdered their daughter,” Weiner said.

Watch all-new episodes of Fatal Family Feuds on Sundays at 7/6c on Oxygen.