Two more arrests have been made with regard to the murder case here in Switzerland County from the summer of last year — bringing the total to four.
Brother and sister Michael Allen Lee Hall of Madison and Victoria Rose Hall of Madison were both arrested on Monday, May 13th, after a warrant was issued for their arrest. The arrests are in regard to the murder of Dennis A. Dzivulski, who was murdered sometime in late June at his residence on Beatty Ridge. His body was discovered by Switzerland County Sheriff’s deputies in a wooded area near his residence; and that discovery at that time led to the arrest of Justin Girdler of Madison.
On Thursday, July 5th of last year, Girdler appeared in front of Switzerland County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Coy, where was formally charged with one count of murder and three counts of obstruction of justice. Judge Coy ordered Girdler to remain incarcerated in the Switzerland County jail without bond.
Girdler is the son of Vivian M. Moore, the girlfriend of Dennis Dzivulski. Moore and Dzivulski lived together in the home on Beatty Ridge; and according to investigators had been in an argument on the night that Dzivulski was apparently murdered.
As the investigation continued, on July 25th of last year Moore was arrested and charged with murder; aiding in murder; and obstruction of justice. Law enforcement officers arrested Moore in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where she was housed until being brought back here in Switzerland County.
As a part of that investigation and arrest, a new probable cause affidavit was filed in the Switzerland County Clerk’s office by Detective Brent Miller of the Indiana State Police on July 18th.
Much of the second Probable Cause Affidavit was consistent with the affidavit filed that led to the charges against Girdler: that on June 2nd Switzerland County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on Beatty Ridge after a 911 call was received. The 911 call was made by Girdler and he reported a domestic abuse incident at his mother’s home. Girdler advised the dispatcher who took the 911 call that Girdler was armed with a sledgehammer for protection from Dziwulski, and once on the scene, deputies found Girdler in possession of a hammer, which he was order to lay aside.
After the investigation, Girdler and Moore left the residence that evening; and on June 3rd, Kentucky State Police officers contacted the Switzerland County Sheriff’s Department to advise that they had discovered an abandoned vehicle registered to Dziwulski along a dead end road in Carroll County. Attempts to contact Dziwulski to remove the vehicle were unsuccessful.
On June 22nd, Doug Dziwulski, brother of Dennis Dziwulski, of Maryland, spoke with Switzerland County Sheriff’s detective Chris Curry about his concern for his brother’s welfare, noting that he had not spoken to Dennis since June 2nd. Doug Dziwulski also stated that he had spoken with Moore in an attempt to find out about his brother, and he stated that she told him that Dennis had moved back to Maryland after the couple split up on June 2nd. On June 22nd, the detective said that he spoke with Moore about Dziwulski’s disappearance, and she told the detective that Dziwulski had moved back to Maryland. At that time she told authorities that after leaving the home on June 2nd (the night of the 911 call), that she and her son returned to the residence and that he dropped her off. She stated that at that time she noticed that Dziwulski had packed all of his clothes in his vehicle and an argument ensued, which led to a physical confrontation. She stated that Dziwulski then threw and broke his cell phone before walking out the door and saying that he was moving back to Maryland. Moore said that was the last time she had seen him.
After that conversation, Switzerland County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Curry received permission from the landlord of the Beatty Ridge property to inspect the mobile home and the area. During that inspection, Curry found evidence of a “significant blood-related event” in the living room area of the home. During a search of the surrounding area, authorities found unidentified human remains approximately 50 yards from the home in the woods.
During another interview a few days following the discovery, Moore initially claimed that she killed Dziwulski after striking him in the head numerous times with a cast iron skillet and that Girdler was a witness to the killing. Moore claimed that she killed Dziwulski as a result of his physical and mental abuse; and took the opportunity to kill him while he slept on the couch of the home. Moore later changed her statement to say that Girdler struck Dziwulski in the head with a hammer two times after Moore and Dziwulski had been engaged in a verbal argument. Moore in the interview that, “Dziwulski was laying awake on the couch at the time and felt that Girdler’s actions were unprovoked.” Moore told authorities that she initially claimed responsibility in order to protect her son.
In another interview with Girdler a couple of days later, Girdler initially claimed that when he arrived at the home that night that his mother had already killed Dziwulski; but later changed his story, indicating that he saw Moore kill Dziwulski with a cast iron skillet as Dziwulski lay on the couch; but then later again changed his story to admit that he struck Dziwulski three times in the head with a hammer after Moore had already struck the victim with the skillet. Girdler said that he felt forced to hit Dziwulski after being intimidated by his mother.