By Rapids City Times staff

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The State Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a Wood County man.

Joseph Reinwand was convicted for the murder of two people – his wife, Pamela, in 1984, and Dale Meister. Meister was found shot to death in his Wisconsin Rapids home in 2008. Reinwand was charged for the crime in 2013 and convicted in 2014.

Reinwand was also convicted in Portage County of killing his wife, Pamela, after that case was reopened following the Meister death investigation.

Reinwand is currently serving two life sentences –one for first-degree intentional homicide in the Meister death, and another for the death of his wife.

According to court documents, the appeal was based on out-of-court statements – 13 in total – made in the weeks leading up to Meister’s death. The statements might be considered hearsay, and therefore not allowed in court. The Supreme Court was to determine whether the 14-person jury should have been subject to these statements before declaring Reinwand guilty in the Meister case.

On March 18, the court ruled that a judge properly allowed statements by Meister that Reinwand might kill him into the record. Reinwand’s attorney tried to argue that allowing those statements prevented cross examination, because the victim was dead. Reinwand is already serving life in prison for the 1984 murder of his wife.