A man accused of a violent murder in a small community in northwestern Wisconsin last month told an arresting officer that he was defending himself from the dead man. Wayne Rouillard was back in Polk County Court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing. The 62 year-old resident of the Village of Luck is charged with first degree murder for the November killing of 61-year old Stephen Dahlstrom, of Bogota, Columbia. Rouillard was arrested at the scene where Dahlstrom was killed in the garage of a rural Luck residence.
Polk County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Ray Joy testified as to what Rouillard told him at the scene on the night of November 28th. “I asked him to explain to me what had happened,” Joy said. “I asked him if there was a fight. He said there was no fight. I asked him what the argument was about. He said there was no argument. He said they walked into the garage, Mr. Dahlstrom attacked him, and he had to defend himself.”
Dahlstrom suffered severe blunt force trauma and at least one fatal stab wound, according to Polk County Medical Examiner John Dennies. Bail for Rouillard remains at $75,000, and a motions hearing in the case has been scheduled for March 23.
Kurt Mayer, WXCE