Antigo Man Found Guilty of Killing His Mother Has Unrelated Charges Dismissed

Wednesday, November 8th, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) The Antigo man found guilty of killing his mother on Halloween in 2021 has had unrelated charges against him dismissed.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, court records show a judge has thrown out two counts against Derek Goplin that occurred in Waukesha County; one felony charge of exposing genitals or intimate areas to a child and one misdemeanor count of child neglect.

The motion to dismiss the charges came down from the state. Representatives for Goplin did not object, and the case was closed. Goplin is already serving a life sentence for killing Susan Reece, his mother, then taking his son and fleeing to Southeast Wisconsin before he was arrested a few days later near Racine. He will be eligible for parole after his 80th birthday in 2063.

Shortly before Goplin was arrested in Racine his son was found alone at a Waukesha hotel where officers say he told them that “grandma tried to hurt daddy, then daddy stabbed grandma.”

The Waukesha County charges were filed while proceedings were underway for the homicide charges in Langlade County. The judge sealed them, meaning they couldn’t be accessed by the public or through the Court Access system, so they wouldn’t interfere with the jury pool.

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