Post by abbey1227 on Jun 23, 2021 11:10:40 GMT
But OH! To be 36 again, huh?
People.com Crime
Wis. Man Told to Move Out of Home He Formerly Shared with Grandmother Kills Her Husband with an Ax: Police
By Jeff TruesdellJune 22, 2021 03:09 PM
A Wisconsin man is charged with the ax murder of his grandmother's husband and attempted murder of two others after allegedly breaking into the grandmother's house and confronting the husband, who was angry to find the suspect there after buying him a bus ticket out of town three days earlier.
A criminal complaint filed in Monroe County Circuit Court details the allegations and arrest leading to the charges against Thomas W. Aspseter, who gave his address as the Sparta residence where the June 6 incident occurred.
Aspseter, 36, has not yet entered a plea and an attorney for him was not immediately identified. He is being held in Monroe County Jail after an order Monday by Judge Todd Ziegler set his cash bond at $1 million, reports La Crosse TV station WXOW.
Aspseter had until recently lived at the home before being asked to leave by the alleged victim, Bernard Waite, 87, who was married to Aspseter's grandmother, said the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in a news release.
The criminal complaint, which did not name Waite's wife, said she had been placed in a nursing home a few weeks prior to the alleged attack that killed her husband and injured her husband's brother, 76, and the brother's wife, 73.
Neighbors, who knew that Waite was gone for two days prior to the attack, told investigators that Aspseter apparently returned to the neighborhood after hitching a ride. He then asked one neighbor for a key to the house, but that neighbor did not have one. Aspseter allegedly said he'd been to Utah and was headed to Wyoming for a job, but that he wanted to take a shower and would just break into the home to do so.
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Another neighbor said Aspseter approached him with concerns about his "grandpa" not coming to the door when he could see his vehicle parked at the residence. Aspseter allegedly asked to borrow a crowbar to force his way in; the neighbor said Aspseter's reasoning seemed logical so he complied, then watched Aspseter walk around the back of the residence before returning the crowbar. That same neighbor saw Aspseter the next day mowing the lawn, and then riding the mower down the street.
According to the complaint, when Waite, his brother and sister-in-law returned to the house on Sunday, June 6, after a weekend trip to Waukesha for a family reunion, they encountered Aspseter standing in a doorway inside the garage.
"What the f--- are you doing here?" Waite said to Aspseter, according to Waite's sister-in-law. "I put you on the bus Thursday and all you did was turn around and come back here and hide. You're not supposed to be here, I want you out of here."
Without a word, Aspseter stepped back into the home, says the complaint. Waite's brother and sister-in-law then loaded some items from Waite's home into their vehicle, but before leaving, the sister-in-law told Waite, "I don't feel safe leaving you here with him."
Waite reiterated that he would tell Aspseter to leave. The sister-in-law then heard him say to Aspseter, "You need to get your stuff. You can't stay here. You need to get out of here."
After the immediate sound of "a big crash," she says she was standing in the kitchen when she heard Waite scream -- and then allegedly saw Aspseter "hitting my husband with the ax" before swinging it in her direction. Struck on her right arm, she fled to the house of a neighbor, who dialed 911 while watching Waite's brother also escape "covered in blood."
"If I would have stayed there," the sister-in-law told police, "I would have been sliced up. I'm quite sure."
Before police arrived, they say Aspseter shot himself in the throat with a .22-calibre rifle, then called 911 himself and confessed to killing Waite, saying he "went f---ing crazy," according to the criminal complaint, which included a transcript of his 911 call.
"I don't know why," Aspseter allegedly told the 911 dispatcher. "I don't. ... I killed him. I couldn't f---ing help it. He was screaming at me, he's been doing it forever. ... I hit him with an ax. ... I don't know what's going on. My grandmother just disappeared off the face of the earth. Oh my god. Oh my god. Why? Why did I have to go through this. Why?"
The charges against Aspseter include one count of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of aggravated battery.
The sister-in-law, Margaret Waite, was treated for her injuries and released. The sheriff's office said Monday that her husband and Waite's brother, Michael, remained hospitalized from his injuries.
Wis. Man Told to Move Out of Home He Formerly Shared with Grandmother Kills Her Husband with an Ax: Police
By Jeff TruesdellJune 22, 2021 03:09 PM
A Wisconsin man is charged with the ax murder of his grandmother's husband and attempted murder of two others after allegedly breaking into the grandmother's house and confronting the husband, who was angry to find the suspect there after buying him a bus ticket out of town three days earlier.
A criminal complaint filed in Monroe County Circuit Court details the allegations and arrest leading to the charges against Thomas W. Aspseter, who gave his address as the Sparta residence where the June 6 incident occurred.
Aspseter, 36, has not yet entered a plea and an attorney for him was not immediately identified. He is being held in Monroe County Jail after an order Monday by Judge Todd Ziegler set his cash bond at $1 million, reports La Crosse TV station WXOW.
Aspseter had until recently lived at the home before being asked to leave by the alleged victim, Bernard Waite, 87, who was married to Aspseter's grandmother, said the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in a news release.
The criminal complaint, which did not name Waite's wife, said she had been placed in a nursing home a few weeks prior to the alleged attack that killed her husband and injured her husband's brother, 76, and the brother's wife, 73.
Neighbors, who knew that Waite was gone for two days prior to the attack, told investigators that Aspseter apparently returned to the neighborhood after hitching a ride. He then asked one neighbor for a key to the house, but that neighbor did not have one. Aspseter allegedly said he'd been to Utah and was headed to Wyoming for a job, but that he wanted to take a shower and would just break into the home to do so.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Another neighbor said Aspseter approached him with concerns about his "grandpa" not coming to the door when he could see his vehicle parked at the residence. Aspseter allegedly asked to borrow a crowbar to force his way in; the neighbor said Aspseter's reasoning seemed logical so he complied, then watched Aspseter walk around the back of the residence before returning the crowbar. That same neighbor saw Aspseter the next day mowing the lawn, and then riding the mower down the street.
According to the complaint, when Waite, his brother and sister-in-law returned to the house on Sunday, June 6, after a weekend trip to Waukesha for a family reunion, they encountered Aspseter standing in a doorway inside the garage.
"What the f--- are you doing here?" Waite said to Aspseter, according to Waite's sister-in-law. "I put you on the bus Thursday and all you did was turn around and come back here and hide. You're not supposed to be here, I want you out of here."
Without a word, Aspseter stepped back into the home, says the complaint. Waite's brother and sister-in-law then loaded some items from Waite's home into their vehicle, but before leaving, the sister-in-law told Waite, "I don't feel safe leaving you here with him."
Waite reiterated that he would tell Aspseter to leave. The sister-in-law then heard him say to Aspseter, "You need to get your stuff. You can't stay here. You need to get out of here."
After the immediate sound of "a big crash," she says she was standing in the kitchen when she heard Waite scream -- and then allegedly saw Aspseter "hitting my husband with the ax" before swinging it in her direction. Struck on her right arm, she fled to the house of a neighbor, who dialed 911 while watching Waite's brother also escape "covered in blood."
"If I would have stayed there," the sister-in-law told police, "I would have been sliced up. I'm quite sure."
Before police arrived, they say Aspseter shot himself in the throat with a .22-calibre rifle, then called 911 himself and confessed to killing Waite, saying he "went f---ing crazy," according to the criminal complaint, which included a transcript of his 911 call.
"I don't know why," Aspseter allegedly told the 911 dispatcher. "I don't. ... I killed him. I couldn't f---ing help it. He was screaming at me, he's been doing it forever. ... I hit him with an ax. ... I don't know what's going on. My grandmother just disappeared off the face of the earth. Oh my god. Oh my god. Why? Why did I have to go through this. Why?"
The charges against Aspseter include one count of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of aggravated battery.
The sister-in-law, Margaret Waite, was treated for her injuries and released. The sheriff's office said Monday that her husband and Waite's brother, Michael, remained hospitalized from his injuries.
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