Sarah Vercauteren, Killer

By Ana Benson

Sarah Vercauteren moved out of her fiance's home in order to get clean for the sake of her two-years-old son Skylar. She could always count on her mother so Sarah returned to her hometown, seeking a non-toxic environment in which she could rebuild her life and become a better mother. In the beginning, Sarah was down with the plan, following the rules and staying out of trouble. However, things became complicated when her mother discovered that Sarah was still using weed to help her out with the withdrawal. As soon as the weed became unavailable to her, Sarah's cravings for heroin returned which had a deadly outcome that shocked this small town.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201482831

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Biography of Sarah Vercauteren

The drug-related crimes are constantly on the rise in the United States of America. While some offenses might include supporting yourself by dealing drugs, the other crimes often involve committing horrible acts under the influence of the narcotics. The statistics are quite staggering, and the law enforcement has plenty of work every single year because they are doing their best to prevent these acts. A study conducted by Journal of Criminal Justice published the findings which revealed that among 1,887 convicts who were accused of murder, exactly 50% of them were under the influence of the alcohol when they committed the crime. What’s shocking is the fact that 13% of the interviewed criminals used both alcohol and drugs, while 7% was under the influence of the drugs only. On the other hand, the addicts are sometimes craving the drugs so much that they are prepared to kill those who are closest to them because they need to get their hands on the opiates.

This perfectly describes the murder of Dawn Wagner, a woman living in Salem Township who wanted to help her daughter kick the habit and become clean. Sarah Vercauteren moved out of her fiance’s home in order to get clean for the sake of her two-years-old son Skylar. She could always count on her mother so Sarah returned to her hometown, seeking a non-toxic environment in which she could rebuild her life and become a better mother. In the beginning, Sarah was down with the plan, following the rules and staying out of trouble. However, things became complicated when her mother discovered that Sarah was still using weed to help her out with the withdrawal. As soon as the weed became unavailable to her, Sarah’s cravings for heroin returned which had a deadly outcome that shocked this small town.

Early life

Sarah Dawn Vercauteren was born on October 2nd, 1988 in Salem Township, Pennsylvania. She had a normal childhood and spent most of her time with her mother Dawn Marie Wagner. The two of them were incredibly close, especially after the divorce from Sarah’s biological father. Dawn Marie Wagner remarried when Sarah was in her early teens, and she really liked her stepfather Larry Wagner. The two of them had a great relationship. Larry accepted Sarah as his own daughter and did his best to be in her life as much as he could. Sarah graduated from high school with average grades and moved out of her family home as soon as she turned eighteen. However, this is when the real problem started.

Sarah was not a troubled teen and never had any brushes with the law. While her peers took narcotics and partied hard, Sarah followed the rules set by her mother. She didn’t drink or experiment with the drugs while she was a teen. But once she got out of her hometown and started living on her own, the drugs crept into her life. It was mostly because the people she hung out with were using regularly and Sarah wanted to see what it was all about. Not to forget that the part of the town she lived in was notorious for drug dealers and users.

It started lightly with smoking marijuana occasionally, but as the time went by, Sarah got the opportunity to try heavier drugs. Soon enough, she was shooting heroin, and her addiction was very serious. In the middle of her addiction and attempts to get clean, Sarah gave birth to a baby boy named Skylar in 2011. This was a wake-up call to a young mother to forever kick out the drugs from her life. Of course, she asked her mother Dawn for help because Sarah knew she could always count on her. Dawn accepted her daughter back with open arms, happy to have her under the same roof once again. 

Going home and getting clean

Moving back home to Salem Township was incredibly hard for Sarah, but she persisted, thinking about her son’s future. She was already somewhat clean and was back to her old self. Sarah’s friends did know her as incredibly happy and polite young woman who was always there for them. Her mother Dawn did understand the severity of the situation and knew that the process of staying off heroin will be difficult for her daughter. But she was determined to help her raise her little boy. Sarah seemed very motivated as well. She found work in a local grocery store as soon as she moved back and seemed to enjoy her workplace. The store was very close to her mother’s home so Dawn visited Sarah often, simply to say hello or to take her baby boy to see Sarah. The two of them once again reconnected and Dawn hoped Sarah would finally be happy. Things were looking bright for the young woman but battling a heavy addiction is hard.

Sarah did get off heroin but she still occasionally smoked marijuana to help her with the withdrawal. This information was kept secret from her mother because Dawn did set a couple of rules before she allowed Sarah to move back in. One of them was that she was not allowed to use any type of opiates anymore. Sarah already spent all of her money on marijuana, and the paycheck was nowhere in sight. She occasionally worked on the cash register in the store, allowing her easy access to the funds. Even though she did probably understand that getting away with theft will be impossible, Sarah stole some money from the store. The deficit was noticed immediately. She also picked up several items along the way, hiding them in her purse. On one occasion, the store manager observed her closely and saw that she was stealing. Once confronted, Sarah admitted to everything without any lies or attempts to get away with it. The manager knew about Sarah’s troubled history, and he decided not to press any charges as long as she paid for everything she took from the store and give back the money stolen from the cash register.

Dawn was immediately notified about what happened in the store, and she was deeply disappointed in her daughter. She did notice that Sarah was smoking marijuana in the house due to the specific smell of this drug, but Dawn didn’t expect she was actually stealing from the store in order to finance this habit. Since Sarah broke the rules, Dawn wanted to kick her out of her home just to demonstrate that she couldn’t do whatever she wanted under her roof, but the thought of her grandson living on the street terrified her. Sarah was at the police station after the shoplifting incident at her work. Dawn paid Sarah’s debt in the store covering the cost of all the items she stole. Then she drove to the police station, bailing her daughter out. Expecting this would be a valuable lesson for Sarah, the two women returned back home.

But Dawn did have a difficult time once Sarah was out on bail. It was clear that the things didn’t get any better for her daughter and that she was going down the same road as before, probably towards the addiction. Dawn did have the best intentions since she did invite Sarah to move back in, but the young woman didn’t listen to her and didn’t want to change her life. Everything seemed to be going well just a couple of weeks prior to the incident, but Sarah’s employment was in jeopardy, and there was a possibility she will face difficulties finding another job in Salem Township. Therefore, Dawn had decided that Sarah should move out once again. Dawn did love her grandson, and she planned on asking Sarah to let the little boy stay with her.

Knowing that it was the middle of December and that the Christmas holidays were just around the corner, Dawn postponed the announcement. She wanted to have both her daughter and her grandson in the house with her, hoping that they could spend some lovely moments together. It was the first Christmas Dawn would celebrate with her grandson, and she was very excited.  She wanted to spoil the little boy with a bunch of presents. Unfortunately, Christmas was very stressful because Sarah was getting off the drugs, so she was aggressive and irritable. Dawn did her best to spend as much time as possible with her grandson, keeping him away from Sarah because she was clearly going through a withdrawal phase. The fact that she was out of weed as well didn’t sit well with this young woman, and the urge to shoot heroin was becoming unbearable.

The New Year’s Eve murder

It was the New Year’s Eve, and almost every family in Salem Township was celebrating the holiday. However, in the Wagner home, things were looking very grim. After almost a week without any drugs, Sarah Vercauteren was feeling sick. Every inch of her body was hurting, and she needed to take any type of opiate to ease the pain. She was pacing nervously through the home while Dawn took care of her little boy. Dawn was aware of what was going on with her daughter but she decided to ignore it and act naturally, hoping that her girl would pull out of it on her own. Also, there was no way she could allow Sarah to take drugs in the house in front of her son. Hours passed and Sarah was still nervous, thinking about what she could do in order to make the pain go away. She bluntly asked her mother if she could borrow her car with a plan of driving straight to her dealer in order to purchase what she craved.

Dawn knew what this meant, but she did ask her daughter why she needed her vehicle. Sarah told her mother that she planned to go and buy some marijuana because she simply couldn’t take it anymore. The withdrawal was getting the best of her, and she needed a break as soon as possible. Dawn did see that her daughter was suffering, but she suspected that Sarah wouldn’t go out to get marijuana. Instead, she feared that Sarah would purchase heroin which would drag her down to the very start. After all, Sarah fought so hard to stay away from the opiates. Aware of the consequences, Dawn said no to Sarah’s request. This was very hard to do, but Dawn simply couldn’t allow her daughter to go back to the hell called addiction. Sarah eyed her mother with disbelief, fearing what would happen in the next several hours if she didn’t get any drugs into her system. The physical pain was just too strong and all she wanted was to end it.

Drug addicts act differently from the people who are not dependent on stimulants. The only thought going through Sarah’s mind that night was how to get the opiates she needed. Dawn tucked her grandson into the bed, almost forgetting Sarah’s request for the car. She truly hoped that her daughter overcame the urge and that she is sitting calmly in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Sarah was overreacting and analyzing the situation. Once Dawn got back into the living room, Sarah knew what she needed to do in order to get those car keys. She wanted the drugs and she wanted them fast. So she jumped on her mother in a clear state of rage, hitting her with a hammer she found while walking around the house. Dawn was surprised because this was the last thing she expected from her daughter. But dealing with a drug addict is complicated because you never know what they could do next.

Unable to calm her daughter down, Dawn was lying helpless on the floor. Sarah was hitting Dawn without a pause. Dawn screamed between the blows, saying that she could take the car and that she loved her very much. But those words weren’t heard by Sarah who was angry at her mother for keeping her away from drugs. Sarah did scream back at Dawn, saying that she was sorry for everything, so she was obviously aware that what she was doing was very wrong. Dawn was bleeding on the floor and clearly suffering. The wounds were too severe but the thought of calling the