Plea Deal Reached in Beating Death of Elderly La Crosse Man

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 -- 9:01 AM

(Bob Hague, WRN) A plea deal has been reached in the beating death of an elderly La Crosse man.

A tentative agreement has been reached, whereby 51-year-old Matthew Kinstler will plead guilty to first degree reckless homicide, and prosecutors will recommend 10 years in prison. The May 2020 death of 79-year-old Russell Paulson in a Menard’s parking lot drew statewide attention.

Witnesses told police that Kinstler appeared to be the aggressor in a dispute over a parking spot, and that he struck the much older man with his own walking stick. A date for the plea hearing as not been set.

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