Prosecutors have filed new charges against a Wausau teen charged in a fatal stabbing last month. Charles Mattson is now charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the May 29th stabbing death of Larry Johnson.
Marathon County district attorney Jill Falstad says that charges came after an eyewitness in the same car told police a different version of what happened. The witness told police that Mattson's statement printed in a local newspaper was wrong, because he claimed the stabbing was in self-defense. Miles Linton told police that Mattson did not act in self-defense.
Linton said that Mattson and the victim were fighting outside the car. There was a break in the fighting, during which Mattson asked for a knife and stabbed the victim.
Falstad says the new charge carries a more serious sentence, from a 60 year felony to possible life imprisonment.
Falstad says Linton withheld the story at first because he was on probation and wanted to avoid trouble.
Mattson remains jailed on a half-million dollar cash bond pending a preliminary hearing June 18th.
AUDIO: Matt Lehman reports (MP3 :38)
