SPARTA, Wis. (WKBT) – A western Wisconsin man accused of killing his step-grandfather with an axe was found guilty Thursday of all five charges he faced in the attack.
A jury convicted Thomas Aspseter, 38, of Sparta, of one count of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of aggravated battery involving a dangerous weapon stemming from the June 2021 attack.
During closing arguments on Thursday, Assistant Monroe County District Attorney Sarah Skiles suggested that Aspseter wounded two people after killing his step-grandfather, then-87-year-old Bernard Waite, because he was trying to eliminate witnesses of his crime.
Skiles argued that one of the victims, a woman, was attacked by Aspseter because she was a witness to the incident.
“If he didn’t intend to kill her then why did he testify that he had the compulsion to go after her?” Skiles asked.
Skiles added that when Aspseter tried to commit suicide by shooting himself after killing his step-grandfather and wounding two people, he was only doing it because he knew he was guilty of killing someone.
“The reason that he was going to take his own life was because of a guilty conscience,” Skiles said.
During his roughly two hours of testimony on Wednesday, Aspseter said Waite punched him in the face and that this led him to respond by attacking him.
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Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger said Aspseter’s testimony did not mesh with the facts of the case.
“My focus when I was questioning him was making sure that was clear to the jury,” Croninger said.
Throughout the course of the trial, the prosecution called more than two dozen witnesses. The defense called one witness during the trial: Aspseter himself.
During closing arguments and throughout the entire trial, Defense Attorney Russell Hammer never denied that Aspseter killed his step-grandfather.
“The concept here was that his response was too big and that’s what we’re telling you,” Hammer said.
On Wednesday, under cross-examination, Aspseter admitted to entering his step-grandfather’s residence unlawfully after the defense had previously denied that this took place.
Though the sentence for first-degree intentional homicide is life in prison, Croninger said it’s possible that the judge could still find Aspseter eligible for parole at a later time.
A date for Aspseter’s sentencing has not been set yet.
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