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WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

S E R V I N G D O D G E & J E F F E R S O N C O U N T I E S S I N C E 1 8 9 5

Vol. 120 No. 220 September 18-20, 2015 Vol. XXX 75 cents

DODGE COUNTY COURTS

A banner McHenry sentenced

night for to 40 years for the
Main art murder of Soeller
By Becky Vosters
Below, 33 hand-painted banners were on beckyv@wdtimes.com
display at Lyons Irish Pub Thursday eve- JUNEAU Dodge County Judge Brian Pfitzinger defined Kriscrilla McHen-
rys murder of Michael Soeller as a difficult circumstance during her sentencing
ning for the annual Art on Main banner auc- Thursday in Dodge County
tion hosted by Watertown Main Street Pro- Circuit Court.
gram and Watertown Arts Council. At right, The bottom line though
Cathy Warren views the banners before the is none of that justifies what
auction begins. All banners were sold dur- happened, Pfitzinger said.
Pfitzinger issued a 20-year
ing the auction. Proceeds will go toward the initial incarceration in Wis-
continuation of the Art on Main Program. consin State Prison and 20
HANNAH BECKER/Daily Times years of extended supervision.
She must also pay $14,549 in
restitution.
McHenry, 31, pleaded
guilty in July to the murder of
Soeller that occurred in Au-
gust 2014. She was convicted
of second degree intentional
homicide.
The plea entered was im-
perfect self-defense which is
a form of second degree ho-
micide. This means the person
committing the crime believes
he or she is in fear of death or
great bodily harm, but the fear
is unreasonable even though
they believe it.
She appeared in court BECKY VOSTERS/Daily Times
Thursday with her attorneys Kriscilla McHenry hangs her head after receiv-
Jessica Moeller and Jon Hel-
land. District Attorney Kurt ing her sentencing in Dodge County Court
Klomberg appeared on behalf Thursday. McHenry will serve 20 years of ini-
of the state. tial incarceration and 20 years of extended
The first order of business supervision for the murder of Michael Soeller
was to straighten out the pre-
sentence investigation. The in August 2014.
information given by the de-
fendants sister about how the crime occurred was not firsthand information, the
existence of sexual assault accusations McHenry made and the fact that the house
McHenry grew up in was abusive even though it was denied in the investigation.
The case was unusual in a few aspects. McHenry is the victim of emotional
and sexual abuse as well as a sickle-cell patient.
The court heard from Joshua Field, medical director of the Froedtert Hospi-

(Continued on back, col. 3)

HEALTH JEFFERSON COUNTY

Friends help woman battle mystery illness Budget gets

By Michael Koller
michaelk@wdtimes.com
Nicole Grehn, 24, has been a regu-
lar face at On The Rock restaurant in
Watertown for a while now. She has
been a waitress, bartender and sings
regularly with performers at the res-
taurant.
Grehn, of Oak Creek, is a young
woman who eats right and exercises.
She is a graduate of the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater who aspires to
go on to become a physicians assis-
tant. Her ties with the restaurant can
be said to be rather close, what with
her then boyfriend only being the
owners son.
This is a snapshot of Grehns life
before she went on a family vacation
in Ashland. Because on the way back
from that trip, on June 28 at a gas sta-
tion in Minocqua, she collapsed.
Grehn had gone into ventricular fi-
brillation, a life-threatening cardiac
rhythm disturbance where the lower
chambers of the heart quiver and the
tentative OK
heart cant pump any blood.
She would be rushed from hospital
to hospital, from Minocqua she was
flown to Wausau, and later was taken
to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.
As she was being transported she By Steve Sharp
went into cardiac arrest. Things would steves@wdtimes.com
get worse before they got better. JEFFERSON The Jefferson County Finance
Grehn would require emergency Committee this morning approved a tentative tax
CPR several times over the course of rate of $4.32 per $1,000 of equalized valuation for
the next few days, and after about a 2016. This rate is 7 cents lower than that of 2015.
week vascular complications required The committee met this week with county depart-
doctors to amputate both of Grehns ment heads to hear more about their needs, trying to
legs above the knees to prevent her bring revenues and expenditures into balance.
body from going into severe sepsis When the committees weeklong meetings con-
shock. cluded this morning, all seemed satisfied the best
The whole ordeal left the 24-year- had been done to meet the needs of county govern-
old in a coma, but it appeared the ment and tax-paying residents.
danger was over. It was hard to tell, Weve heard board members mention that since
though, as the doctors and specialists Contributed photo County Administrator Ben Wehmeier has been
were unable to identify a cause, and Nicole Grehn and her fianc, Mike Bendall, attended the with us the budget process has been running more
they still do not have an explanation Wisconsin State Fair after Grehn got out of the hospital ear- smoothly, county board Chairman Jim Schroeder
to this day. said this morning.
Regardless, Grehn is alive. Nine
lier this year. She had been hospitalized for 37 days follow-
Schroeder said the county is implementing for-
ing a mysterious illness that had threatened her life and left
(Continued on Page 15, col. 3) a lasting impact. (Continued on back, col. 1)

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 jumpa16
Page 16 WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES Friday, September 18, 2015

Watertown Daily Weather Sun and Moon National Map for Tomorrow
Sunset tonight . . . . . 6:59 p.m.
Tonight Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Sunrise tomorrow. . . 6:39 a.m.
Moonrise today . . . . 11:36 a.m. 110s
Moonset today . . . . . 9:57 p.m. 100s
90s L
80s H
70s H
60s
Showers Likely Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Sunny Sunny 50s H
54 68 47 70 49 72 50 74 51
First
9/21
Full
9/27
Last
10/4
New
10/12 40s L
30s
Wisconsin Weather Forecast Around Our State Almanac 20s
10s
Shown is tomorrows weather. Saturday Sunday 0s This map shows high temperatures,
type of precipitation expected and
Temperatures are tonights Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx Temperature location of frontal systems at noon.
Superior Appleton 67/48 pc 71/50 s High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 L H
lows and tomorrows highs.
45 / 70 Beaver Dam 68/47 pc 70/49 s Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Cold Front Stationary Front Warm Front Low Pressure High Pressure

Brookfield 67/50 pc 69/50 s Normal high. . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Burlington 67/45 pc 70/46 s Normal low . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Yesterdays National Extremes
Rhinelander Chicago 69/55 t 69/55 s Record high. . . . . . . 90 in 1927 High: 101 in Carlsbad, N.M.
48 / 65 Davenport 70/46 s 72/51 s Record low . . . . . . . 36 in 1943 Low: 24 in Kalispell, Mont.
Des Moines 71/50 s 74/53 s Precipitation
Dubuque 67/46 s 71/52 s Yesterday . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.71" National Cities
Eau Claire 68/47 s 70/52 s Month to date . . . . . . . . . 3.65"
Grand Rapids 68/47 t 70/47 s Normal month to date . . 2.22" Saturday Saturday
Eau Claire Green Bay 66/47 pc 71/50 s Year to date . . . . . . . . . . 23.57" Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx
49 / 68 Green Bay Intl Falls 70/47 s 71/50 s Normal year to date . . . 26.43" Albuquerque 84/56 s Kansas City 73/55 s
54 / 66 Janesville 69/48 pc 70/49 s Snowfall yesterday . . . . . . 0.0" Atlanta 86/65 s Las Vegas 94/73 s
Kenosha 67/50 pc 69/51 s Snowfall season to date. . 0.0" Atlantic City 80/68 s Los Angeles 95/68 s
La Crosse 69/48 s 72/54 s Billings 74/46 s Memphis 87/65 s
Oshkosh Sheboygan Lansing 68/46 t 68/47 s
UV Index Tomorrow Boston 79/65 s Miami 89/79 t
Madison 68/48 pc 70/50 s
La Crosse 53 / 66 56 / 66 Milwaukee 68/52 pc 69/52 s UV Index for 3 periods of the day.
Daytona Bch 87/72 t New York 80/68 s
Cleveland 76/57 t Orlando 89/74 t
52 / 69 Minneapolis 70/51 s 71/56 s 8 a.m. ...............................................3 Denver 75/48 s Philadelphia 85/64 s
Watertown Oshkosh 66/47 pc 70/50 s Noon ................................................6 Detroit 75/52 t Phoenix 100/78 s
54 / 68 Milwaukee Rhinelander 65/43 s 69/48 s 4 p.m ................................................5
El Paso 85/69 t St. Louis 74/55 s
Rochester 68/48 s 71/53 s
57 / 68 Rockford 69/48 pc 71/49 s
Fairbanks 42/31 sh Salt Lake City 72/53 s
0-2: Minimal Honolulu 90/78 s Seattle 71/59 mc
Madison Sheboygan 66/50 pc 68/52 s 3-4: Low
The higher the UV

55 / 68 Racine Superior 70/48 s 70/51 s 5-6: Moderate

index, the higher Houston 94/73 s Tampa 88/74 t
the need for eye Indianapolis 77/52 t Washington 86/68 s
Kenosha 58 / 68 Waterloo 68/47 pc 70/49 s 7-9: High
and skin protection.
10+: Very High Weather (Wx): cl/cloudy; fl/flurries; pc/partly cloudy; r/rain; rs/rain &
Wausau 67/43 s 69/49 s
58 / 67 snow; s/sunny; sh/showers; sn/snow; t/thunderstorms; w/windy

Fed stays the course Woman sentenced in Dodge County

WASHINGTON (AP) So
what will it take for the Federal
Reserve to finally raise interest
rates?
The U.S. economy is now in
its seventh straight year of ex-
pansion. Its growing at a steady
if unexciting 2.2 percent annual
rate. Unemployment has sunk
from a 10 percent peak to a re-
assuring 5.1 percent. Auto and
home sales have accelerated.
Yet on Thursday, Fed offi-
cials declined to lift rates from
record lows.
The decision left some Fed
watchers mystified over what
the central bank needs to see
to begin phasing out a policy it
launched in 2008 to help save
a collapsing economy. Many
consumers and businesses
wouldnt even likely feel the
consequences of a single rate
hike, at least not immediately.
And Yellen has stressed that the
Feds rate increases would be
modest and gradual.
At a news conference, Yel-
len declined to spell out what
exactly would give the Fed
enough confidence to raise the
federal funds rate the inter-
est that banks charge each other
from near-zero.
I cant give you a recipe for
exactly what were looking to
see, she said.
What she does see now are
too many lingering risks.
Inflation is still undershooting
the 2 percent target that the Fed
regards as consistent with stable
growth. Financial markets have
turned stormy as doubts have
spread about China.
(Continued from page 1)
tal Adult Sickle Cell Clinic, re-
garding her condition. Field is
also McHenrys physician.
Field described sickle-cell to
the court. The disease causes
the cells to assume a crescent
shape as opposed to their nor-
mal circular shape due to a lack
of oxygen. Put shortly, the dis-
ease causes chronic bouts of
pain and often leads to joint
replacements from bone de-
terioration. Eventually organs
can fail.
Field also said the average
life expectancy of an adult fe-
male with the disease is 48. He
said McHenry has had a hip re-
placement, a shoulder replace-
ment and is in need of a knee
replacement. He said taking in
BECKY VOSTERS/Daily Times
the factors of her condition he
expects her life expectancy to Kriscilla McHenry, right, sits listening with one of her attorneys, Jessica Moeller, center, while

County budget
(Continued from page 1)
mal, priority-based budgeting
to make sure services are main-
tained and capital projects are
funded while county staff re-
mains fairly compensated.
Among noteworthy expen-
ditures in 2016 will be the pur-
Markets
Dow Jones
The Dow Jones Industrials were
down 190.17 at 9:35 a.m. today at
16,484.57. The Transportation In-
dex was 8,092.62, down 122.82,
and the Utility Index was 569.95,
up 2.23. The market closed Thurs-
day at 16,674.74. London spot
gold was $1,137.70, up $20.70,
and silver was $15.21, up $0.22.
30 Dow Jones Industrials
Alcoa 9.90 0.05
Apple 113.85 0.07
American Express 76.44 0.61
Boeing Co. 136.84 0.61
Bank of America 15.56 0.30
Caterpillar 72.71 1.35
Cisco Systems 25.58 0.30
Chevron 78.32 1.09
DuPont 47.67 0.41
Disney 103.39 0.81
General Electric 25.11 0.24
Home Depot 116.89 1.02
Hewlett-Packard 27.01 0.56
IBM 145.63 2.51
Intel Corp. 29.36 0.35
Johnson&Johnson 94.39 0.45
J.P. Morgan 61.19 1.47
Coca Cola 39.22 0.16
McDonalds 96.97 0.87
3M Co. 140.32 2.63
Merck 52.37 1.59
Microsoft Corp. 43.60 0.65
Pfizer Inc. 33.32 0.16
Procter & Gamble 70.54 +0.30
Travelers 100.42 1.24
Utd. Technologies 91.46 1.85
UnitedHealth 122.75 0.51
Verizon 45.12 0.11
Walmart 64.02 0.45
Exxon Mobil 73.14 1.32
Stocks of local interest
Assoc. Bank Corp. 17.71 0.48
Bank of Montreal 53.76 0.28
John Deere 79.98 0.45
Eaton Corp. 53.39 1.66
Illinois Tool Works 85.21 0.35
chase of six new SUV squad
vehicles for the sheriffs de-
partment and the countywide
facility assessment will also be
conducted.
Due to Daily Times dead-
line limitations a full story on
the 2016 budget will appear in
Mondays edition.
Johnson Controls 40.89 0.56
Kohls 50.22 0.45
Seneca 26.70 0.36
SPX Corp. 54.83 1.35
Tel. Data Systems 26.07 0.57
Target 77.59 0.42
Wis. Energy Corp. 49.47 +0.28
Milwaukee livestock
REESEVILLE Thursdays
Milwaukee Stockyards report:
Cows: Premium no-roll cows-
white cows 92-97; high-yielding
cutters and utility 85-92; cutters
75-84; canners and shells up to
75.
Holstein steers: high choice
and prime Holstein steers 1,300-
1,500 pounds 122-125; choice
Holstein steers 117-121; select
steers 105-115; unfinished Hol-
stein steers up to 100.
Beef cattle: prime Angus beef
1,200-1,500 pounds 128-130;
choice steers and heifers 125-128;
select beef steers and heifers up to
120.
Bulls: premium beef bulls
1,600-2,050 pounds up to 122;
common to good bulls 105-115.
Replacement calves: premium
bulls 90-120 pounds 300-450;
common to good bulls 80-120
pounds 100-300. Premium heif-
ers: up to 300; common to good
heifers 75-150; boning calves up
to 60.
Todays estimated receipts: 35
cattle and 0 calves.
United Cooperative
Johnson Creek
Local cash grain bids clos-
ing Thursday.
Sept. New Crop
#2 shell corn 3.50 bu. 3.50 bu.
#1 soybeans 8.35 bu. 8.25 bu.
Winter wheat 4.22 bu. 4.43 bu.
fall within average perimeters.
Evelyn Brown, the retired
nurse coordinator of the sick-
le-cell disease program at the
University of Wisconsin, also
spoke about McHenrys condi-
tion.
She said she met McHenry
when she was 4 at her annual
sickle-cell session and had an
active role in treating McHen-
ry until 2011 when McHenry
transferred to Fields clinic.
Brown detailed some of the
other traumas McHenry en-
dured in her life. She noted
McHenry always had a dull de-
meanor and said sexual abuse
was suspected. When she was 5
these suspicions were found to
be true.
With her demeanor we were
always kind of concerned this
child has the makeup of a child
whos been sexually assaulted,
Brown said. We did a urine
test and sure enough there were
some cells of gonorrhea in the
urine.
Brown said home visits con-
firmed McHenrys home life
was inadequate and when she
was moved to foster and group
homes her anger would some-
times escalate when things got
tough.
I would say something is
going on for you to be yell-
ing and screaming and talking
like youre doing and then she
would say, Someone sexually
assaulted me again, Brown
said.
The court heard a video
statement from McHenrys psy-
chiatrist and friend that offered
details on some of her men-
tal health and trust issues that
stemmed from her childhood.
A 50-minute portion of the
eight-hour initial interview of
McHenry the day she was ar-
rested was also shown in court.
In the video McHenry was
hysterical and almost incom-
prehensible as she spoke
through her tears. She men-
tioned multiple times she felt
uncomfortable with Soeller and
just wanted to go home.
She said Soeller raped her
and it was when she began to
Judge Brian Pfitzinger explains the sentencing he will dole out to McHenry. McHenry received
20 years initial incarceration and 20 years extended supervision for murdering Michael Soeller
in August 2014.
fear for her life that she grabbed
the tool she said she used to
defend herself from Soeller.
According to a criminal
complaint, Soeller was found
dead in his apartment in the
Randolph Motel in the town
of Fox Lake Aug. 24, 2014.
Soeller died of blood loss and
it was determined he had been
stabbed 38 times.
His vehicle was also missing
from the area. It was later lo-
cated in the Milwaukee Police
Department impound lot, it had
been called in as abandoned or
possibly stolen.
A warrant was issued Aug.
29, 2014, for McHenry for the
theft of the car, and McHenry
soon after turned herself in.
McHenry was interviewed
by two Dodge County sheriffs
detectives on Sept. 16, 2014, at
the Dodge County sheriffs of-
fice.
According to the complaint,
McHenry made allegations that
Soeller had sexually assaulted
her prior to an incident where
she stabbed him. However,
she initially said she stabbed
Soeller four times and later said
she possibly stabbed him 10-15
times.
McHenry said she then took
Soellers car and drove it to
Milwaukee.
Following the lunch recess,
Loretta Soeller, with her hus-
band and children standing
beside her, entered a victim im-
pact statement.
I want to speak to both
grace and the need for wise
judgment and consequences,
Loretta Soeller said. Because
of what we believe we forgive
you Kriscilla McHenry. As be-
lievers we dont just give words
to this, we genuinely look to
forgive and pray for your soul
and what comes next for you.
Klomberg said only six of
the 38 wounds McHenry in-
flicted on Soeller were seri-
ous and the medical examiner
deemed the others as cuts and
scratches. He went on to say
due to McHenrys small stat-
ure and disease symptoms if
Soeller, being much larger, had
wanted to subdue her he could
have.
Were supposed to believe
she fought off a 250-pound man
who was a physical laborer?
That did not happen, Klom-
berg said.
Klomberg said the charges
and possible inaccuracies in her
accounts of what occurred are a
statement for her poor charac-
ter.
He addressed the sickle-cell
disease McHenry is battling by
stating it should have no weight
in the sentencing and recom-
mended a 45-year sentence, 25
years initial incarceration and
20 years of extended supervi-
sion.
Helland argued McHenry
thought her life was in danger
and while it was unreasoned, it
was what she truly believed.
We look at someone who
has been abused, physically and
emotionally and sexually, who
has attempted to deal with a de-
bilitating sickle-cell disease but
has tried to keep her feet under
her, Helland said.
Helland noted McHenry had
no criminal record and she act-
ed out because Soeller took her
dignity from her. He also said it
was relevant to take her disease
into consideration.
Is she asking for a free ride
because she will die at a young
age? Is that whats being sug-
gested? he asked. Shell at
best live to be 48 or 49 and she
is being sentenced for a crime
where she felt there was no way
out.
Helland then posed the ques-
tion to the court of how much
McHenry should have to pay
knowing she has a shortened
life span and has a daughter
waiting for her. He recom-
mended 10 years of initial
confinement and 20 years of
extended supervision to give
her a moment with her daugh-
ter while still punishing her and
supervising her.
McHenry offered a tearful
apology to the family of Soeller
saying she knew she needed to
be punished and wished it could
have been her. She also apolo-
gized to her own loved ones.
I wake up every day know-
ing I cant live with myself,
McHenry said. I wish I could
take it back and I want to apolo-
gize every day because I cant.
Pfitzinger said he was
amazed with the Soeller fam-
ily because they practice what
they preach and he felt their
forgiveness was real. He also
said he felt McHenrys apology
was heartfelt.
He said he had to take into
account the seriousness of the
crime, the safety of the public
and McHenrys character when
he sentenced her.
I dont know what hap-
pened here, Pfitzinger said. I
know the end result, I know the
charge to which she has pled
and I understand the charge to
which she has pled, but I dont
really know what happened. In
some ways I suppose it was the
perfect storm.
When looking at her charac-
ter he said he took into account
the abuse and her disease and
the fact that she felt safest in
a hospital where most people
want to leave quickly. He noted
it was a difficult situation but
said the bottom line was none
of it justifies what happened.
The beauty of the system is
were all judged individually,
Pfitzinger said. This is a seri-
ous offense. No matter what
happens in ones life. No matter
what the circumstance youre
faced with, you dont have the
right to do this kind of behav-
ior, you dont have the right to
take a persons life. You just
dont.