Wood County Teen Found Guilty of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother
Thursday, April 21st, 2016 -- 11:28 AM
-A Wood County Jury found an 18-year-old guilty of the fatal shooting of the mother of a girl he had been dating.Authorities said Miguel Oertel fatally shot 47-year-old Theresa Coates at her home in Saratoga on Aug. 17, and shot himself in the head. Search warrants said her 17-year-old daughter told police that she ended her relationship with him on the day of the shooting. Oertel was released from the hospital Sept. 16th and was booked into the Wood County Jail in Wisconsin Rapids. Oertel stated the shooting was an accident and the gun went off when Coates tried to grab it away from him. He said he had gone there just to kill himself. Coates daughter witnessed the shooting.
A trial began this week and after four hours of deliberation yesterday, the jury found Oertel guilty of first degree reckless homicide. The next part of the trial will decide whether or not Oertel was insane at the time of the shooting.
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