Jury rejects teen's claim of mental illness
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - An 18-year-old Nekoosa man tried to blame his mother's decision to treat his mental illness with religion rather than medication for the troubles that ended with him killing his girlfriend's mother before trying to kill himself.
Jurors on Wednesday ultimately rejected Miguel-Angel Oertel's insanity defense and convicted him of first-degree reckless homicide in the shooting death of Theresa C. Coates, 47, of Saratoga. It took jurors just over three hours to determine Oertel was guilty, and another hour to decide he was responsible for his actions.
They made those decisions after hearing extensively about Oertel's mental health problems, which defense attorney Michael Hughes said became apparent when Oertel first tried to commit suicide at the age of 6 by jumping out of a family car. Oertel was raised by his mother and the impoverished family couldn't afford or didn't want to get the mental help Oertel needed, Hughes said.
For the second day in a row, Oertel took the stand. This time, he talked about struggling with depression and anxiety. He was on a prescription medication for about a month in early 2015 and it helped, Oertel said. He said he thought he never would have killed Coates had he still been on the prescription. He stopped taking it because he had run out and didn't have anyone to help him get more, he said.
Oertel's mother, Maria Housworth, took the stand Wednesday afternoon to explain how Oertel had become withdrawn after his grandmother, who helped raised him, died. Housworth said she was trying to get her son help through holistic means and wanted to use religious beliefs to solve her son's problems. Over the past three years, Housworth took Oertel to a faith-based counselor whose full-time job is vice president of a bank, she said.
"Had I known what I know now, I probably would have done things differently," Housworth said.
During testimony Tuesday, Oertel told jurors that he went to Coates' Saratoga home because he wanted to see her daughter one more time before he killed himself. Coates' daughter, who was 17 at the time, had broken up with Oertel earlier in the day, and he took a shotgun to the Saratoga residence with the intention of seeing the girl and then killing himself. Oertel said when he saw Coates, he decided she might be able to help him, but she grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and it went off as they struggled for it.
Teen to jury: Shooting was accidental
Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert said in his closing argument that the shooting was not an accident. Oertel's actions created the situation in which Coates was killed, Lambert said. He chose to take a loaded gun to the Saratoga residence, he chose to take it into the home after he saw Coates in the doorway, he chose not to put it down and ask Coates for help, and he chose to pull back when Coates' grabbed the barrel, Lambert said.
Hughes said the shooting was a tragic accident and asked the jury to find Oertel guilty of homicide by negligent operation of a dangerous weapon. Oertel was distraught, Hughes said. He was a scared and helpless 17-year-old boy and didn't know the gun was pointed at Coates when it went off, Hughes said.
Wood County Circuit Judge Greg Potter ordered the Department of Corrections to do a presentence investigation and scheduled Oertel's sentencing for June 13. First-degree reckless homicide carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
Karen Madden: 715-424-7308, karen.madden@gannettwisconsin.com. On Twitter@KMadden715 .
