OSHKOSH – Jeffrey Manke did not want to pay child support and argued he was owed maintenance in his divorce hearing on the same day he and both of his daughters were found dead inside his Winneconne home July 31.
In a Northwestern exclusive, Manke’s ex-wife Lindsey Lewandowski described her 57-year-old ex-husband as someone who “didn’t like to work” and said he was very agitated when the court denied him maintenance and ordered him to pay $771 in monthly child support for Jaelyn, 16, and Lenora, 11.
“It was definitely about the money,” said a sullen Lewandowski during an Aug. 15 interview, recalling Manke mostly picked up small jobs during their 16 years of marriage.
“He didn’t ever want to provide for himself,” she said. “He wanted everyone else to pay everything for him.”
The comments serve as Lewandowski’s lone public remarks addressing Manke after the deaths of her ex-husband and young daughters, whom she remembered as “simply amazing children.”
Lewandowski wanted to address speculation about the divorce
Speaking to the media for the first time since the tragedy, Lewandowski, 38, said she agreed to a sit-down interview to address speculation about the divorce proceedings and to absolve court officials in the court of public opinion.
Sitting down with her infant son, Shepherd; boyfriend, Jeff Watts; and Manke’s eldest daughter from a previous relationship, Layla Lessor, Lewandowski explained there was no contention over custody and placement of the girls because that had been decided two weeks before the final hearing.
Manke happily accepted 20% placement, according to Lewandowski, and she agreed to not receive child support while giving him about $30,000 in a lump sum for assets and divorce settlement.
But Lewandowski said the court couldn’t approve her payment, figuring the money would be going to Manke and not their daughters.
Documents show the court denied Manke’s request for maintenance “as this was a short-term marriage” but accepted Lewandowski’s waiver of maintenance.
Manke also was ordered to pay $771 in monthly child support after Lewandowski said the court showed he had other income he did not disclose.
A Security income document presented in court also showed Lewandowski didn’t make the amount of money that Manke claimed she did.
“Once the court ordered the child support, that’s when you could tell he was very, very unhappy,” Lewandowski recalled, saying Manke was OK when the two agreed he didn’t have to pay child support.
“He believed he was entitled to maintenance,” she said.
Manke’s ex-wife says he took small jobs to earn money ‘for fun’
Lewandowski painted a picture of a man who picked up small jobs to have enough money “to have fun,” with his daughter Layla, 25, adding that Manke did not like to work when he was previously married to her mother.
“He was an evil person,” Layla contended, saying Lewandowski “did everything” when she stayed with her and Manke.
Lewandowski said she is on state assistance, having homeschooled both Jaelyn and Lenora while making professional-grade stickers for companies.
Manke at one point was traveling to air shows to sell T-shirts until Lewandowski said the courts found he was concealing money.
According to her, Manke was withdrawing interest earned on a life insurance policy she only found out about after the divorce.
“Towards the end [of proceedings], he said he could not work,” Lewandowski claimed.
Lewandowski said she did not expect the tragedy after court
Still, Lewandowski said she didn’t foresee any possible signs of a tragedy when both parties left Winnebago County Circuit Court around 3:30 p.m. July 31.
According to Lewandowski, Jaelyn drove herself and Lenora over to Manke’s residence at 5 p.m. before they expressed concerns about their father’s mood via text.
Authorities said police were sent to a Winneconne home July 31 for a welfare check around 6:58 p.m., but Lewandowski said her family did not make the call.
It was not the first time issues had been raised, with Layla recalling one time that Jaelyn video-called her crying to say Manke put his hands on Lenora’s neck.
“He never treated anyone with respect or kindness or love,” Layla said of her father.
Jaelyn and Lenora had raised concerns about being with their father
Lewandowski cited multiple times law enforcement was called after Jaelyn said she was not comfortable being with her father.
In one incident, Jaelyn refused to get back in the car with Manke and called her mother. Lewandowski said Manke responded by calling police on his daughter, saying she had “behavioral issues.”
Both Layla and Lewandowski pushed back on that characterization of Jaelyn, saying she was heavily involved in the church and even took part in a mission to Honduras.
“They would just do nice things for people and carry themselves with grace,” said Lewandowski’s boyfriend, Jeff Watts, of Jaelyn and Lenora.
Layla added, “They were amazing, very helpful, kind and had strong faith.”
Wisconsin law sets factors for child custody and placement
The incident brings into question state law and how child custody and physical placement are evaluated.
Under Wisconsin Statute 767.41(5), placement and custody are determined by factors including safety, stability, the relationship with parents and the preference of a child once the child is old enough.
“I don’t want to hold anyone responsible because there’s only one person responsible,” Lewandowski said.
She added: “I think the law should change. At 11, 16, they should be able to choose who they want to live with.”
A celebration of life will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Aug. 23 at Poplar Creek Barn, 4541 County Road K, Oshkosh. Those attending are asked to wear red and black for Lenora or pink for Jaelyn. Shirts also are on sale at Richard’s School of the Dance.
People are encouraged to donate to the girls’ memorial fund at https://www.givesendgo.com/memorial-fund-for-jaelyn-and-lenora and visit their memorial page, https://www.jaelynandlenora.com.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: ‘It was about the money,’ mother of slain girls says | Exclusive
Reporting by Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern / Oshkosh Northwestern
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern | USA TODAY Network
