Christopher Revak- Former EMT turned Suspected Serial Killer
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Deidre Harm was just 21 years old when she went missing from Wisconsin Rapids, WI, in 2006. Harm, who was a single mother, disappeared on June 10, 2006.
Described as “a vibrant, loving woman,” Harm had everything going for her — she had just gotten a new job and a new apartment, and was raising her 4-month-old daughter.
She was last seen that same night at a string of bars in the downtown Wisconsin Rapids area and was officially reported missing the following day. Witnesses saw her with an unknown man, and although a composite sketch was circulated, nobody could identify him.
Several months later, on November 20, 2006, Harm’s body was discovered five miles from her last known location after two hunters stumbled upon her remains in a wooded area near Seneca, Wisconsin.
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was undetermined. The bones displayed trauma, although investigators could not say if the trauma was a result of the incident. The location of the body indicated that someone had transported and left it there, and the case was investigated as a homicide.
Despite investigators’ best efforts, the case went cold and remained unsolved for several years.
According to WSAW-TV, in 2009 a tip from a local resident led police to then-36-year-old Christopher Revak. He was arrested in Missouri in connection with the murder of another missing woman, 36-year-old Rene Williams.
Williams, a bartender at the Eagles Lodge in Ava, Missouri, was last seen at her place of work at approximately 1:30 a.m. on March 13, 2007. She had driven to work in her red Chevy Lumina and had called her boyfriend to tell him that she would be home soon.
She never made it.
Her car was found parked in the lot outside the Eagles Lodge where she had left it; however, she was nowhere to be found. Her bag was also left behind at the scene.
Media outlets reported that Revak was something of a regular at the Eagles Lodge.
Williams’ body was never found; however, biological and trace evidence connecting Rene Williams to both Revak’s vehicle and home in Missouri was later discovered by police. Williams’s DNA samples were taken from personal items found in her home and compared to the DNA of her family members.
Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase said of the Williams case:
“We had his DNA at the scene. We had her DNA inside his truck. I think the biggest thing was that they weren’t able to find a body. They had no witnesses to come forward to say that she was dead.”
Christopher Revak, a former EMT, was ultimately apprehended, arrested, and charged with second-degree murder in Williams’s disappearance. He took his own life in his jail cell one day after his arrest, taking away the victims’ families’ chance to question him about the murder of their loved one.
Local District Attorney Jonathan Barnett said in a written statement to the public that he believed he had enough evidence to charge and win at trial if Revak were still alive to face the court.
Revak had worked as an EMT in Taney County, Missouri, although between June 3 - June 16, 2006, he was off work for a trip to Wisconsin Rapids with his fiancée (later wife) and daughter to visit family there.
The pair married in December 2006 and had apparently taken several trips to Wisconsin together.
On the night of Harm’s disappearance, Revak’s wife said he had gone out that night alone and did not return until 5 a.m.
Initially, Revak's brother was reportedly with him on the night of Harm’s disappearance and said the pair got into a verbal altercation when Revak, who was engaged at the time, was dancing with another woman. The brother took Revak home. Revak then went out again alone.
Revak’s then fiancé said that upon his return, Revak’s clothes were covered in mud, and he claimed he had gotten his truck stuck and had to dig it out.
According to reporting by the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, during this trip Revak's wife had found the body of a woman. She reported that Revak had allegedly told her he brought the woman to their home to "have a threesome," but that he had “accidentally” killed her following an argument.
She allegedly said Revak had put the body in the woods near their Missouri home and that four days later she helped him move it. She also claimed Revak threatened her life, along with her mother’s life, if they said anything.
Sheriff Degase began to wonder if Revak could have kidnapped and murdered additional women. He began searching online for cold cases, or cases of missing women in the areas Revak was known to — or could have — frequented. It was then that he found the case of Deidre Harm.
Degase told KY3 earlier this month that Revak is also a possible person of interest in the 1995 unsolved disappearance of TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit, who was declared legally dead in 2001.
Although Huisentruit was not abducted from a bar, Degase reportedly reached out to investigators in Wisconsin to share information on Revak.
Huisentruit went missing from Mason City, Iowa, at around 4 a.m. on June 27, 1995. She had overslept and told a colleague that she was on her way to work and would be there soon. Huisentruit was never seen again. Her car was found parked outside her apartment, and there were signs indicative of a struggle. Her red heeled shoes and a bent car key were found nearby, and neighbors reported hearing a scream.
Although he didn’t live in the area at the time, Revak reportedly had a girlfriend who lived in Mason City during Huisentruit’s abduction.
At the time of writing, no evidence connecting Revak to the case has been recovered; however, notes on the cases are being shared by authorities.
Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase said of Revak:
“We’re dealing with what’s possibly a serial killer. During his day he’s doing his deed to society and helping people and saving people, but there was a dark side to Chris Revak.”