WOOD COUNTY – “On behalf of the Wood County Sheriff's Department and Wisconsin Rapids Police Department, we would like to thank Wood County District Attorney Jonathan Barnett for considering this investigation closed. His thorough review of the case agreed with us that Chris Revak was responsible for Deidre Harm's death. This may provide some closure for many, but won't bring Deidre back. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with Deidre's family,” the announcement from Wood County Sheriff Shawn Backer closed a nearly 20-year case Deidre Harm.
Harm was 21 years old when she was reported missing on June 11, 2006, after failing to return to her apartment in Wisconsin Rapids the previous night.
Her remains were located in the town of Seneca on Nov. 20, 2006, by hunters.
Shortly after, wanted posters were released showing an unidentified male who was seen speaking with Deidre Harm at the Finish Line Bar in Wisconsin Rapids on June 10, 2006.
“On July 30, 2009, Douglas County, Missouri, Sheriff Chris Degase called Inv. Becker. Sheriff Degase stated that they had arrested Christopher Revak for a homicide, and he had hanged himself in the jail. Sheriff Degase said Chris is employed as an EMT with Taney County, Missouri. Chris' work records indicate he was off from June 3, 2006, through June 16, 2006. Chris's wife Johanna Revak stated they had taken Chris' daughter to visit family in Wisconsin Rapids during that period,” a memo from Wood County District Attorney Jonathan E. Barnett to Becker stated.
A photo of Revak was then identified as the man at the Finish Line bar.
Becker then reached out to Degase County Sheriff’s Office and was briefed on what the county had through their investigation into a missing woman case there.
“Degase County Deputies spoke with Johanna Revak, who stated she had come across the body and Chris had told her it was an accident,” the memo added.
“Chris then told Johanna that there had been an argument outside the bar and he had strangled her.
“After DNA was confirmed in the vehicle, combined with the statement from Johanna, Chris was arrested. Johanna said she said nothing because Chris threatened her and her mother.
“Johanna said she and Chris Revak were married and had both been employed at EMTs. Johanna stated that they had traveled to Wisconsin several occasions and had been married in December of 2006.”
Johanna also confirmed that one of their trips was during the time that Harm went missing.
In 2010, Revak was arrested and charged with Second Degree Homicide in Missouri.
After being charged, Revak hanged himself.
“I consider this case closed. I believe I had enough to charge and, if Mr. Revak were still alive, win at trial. I want to thank you and all your Deputies and Investigators who worked on this for all these years,” Barnett added.
“First and foremost, words will never heal our hearts that have been forever broken, nor will they lessen the grief or the emptiness we feel every single day without her,” Deidre’s parents, Scott and Vegas Harm, said in a statement.
“To the person or people responsible for the death of our beloved Deidre Christine Harm, I want these words to be heard and felt. You did not just take a life; you shattered countless others. Deidre was a daughter, a mother, a friend, and a light in this world whose absence is felt by everyone who knew and loved her.
“We live every day with the pain of her loss, but we also live every day determined to keep her memory alive — to speak her name, to share her story and to remind the world that her life mattered.”
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