OSHKOSH, WI — The suspect in a decades-old unsolved murder case in the Fox Cities dies. According to an obituary notice, 84-year-old Gary Banes died March 25 from Alzheimer’s disease.
Banes became the prime suspect in the disappearance of his estranged wife, Jeanne Banes, in December 1993. Gary Banes told investigators at the time Jeanne pulled her car to a Neenah hotel where he used a restroom. When he went back outside, Jeanne Banes and her car were gone.
In March of 1994, Jeanne Banes’ car was recovered from the Fox River in Menasha. Her body was found in the backseat. While no physical evidence linked Gary Banes to Jeanne’s death, he was charged and tried in 1995 for First Degree Intentional Homicide in Winnebago County.
The case ended in a hung jury, with only one juror voting guilty. The judge then declared a mistrial. Despite Gary Banes death, investigators tell the Appleton Post-Crescent the investigation remains active and Banes is still considered the prime suspect.
