Search Results for: Miguel Oertel

An 18-year-old who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend’s mother has been sentenced to a 15 year prison term. Miguel Oertel was convicted for first degree reckless homicide by a Wood County jury in April.

Oertel was convicted of killing 47-year-old Theresa Coates at her rural Wisconsin Rapids home Aug. 17, 2015, shortly after her daughter told him that she was ending their relationship. Oertel told the jury the shooting was an accident, but prosecutors said Oertel had no regard for human life when he fatally shot Coates. Oertel then turned the gun on himself. He shot himself in the face and spent several weeks in the hospital recovering.

Before he was sentenced Monday Coates apologized for what happened, and said he wished he could fix the tragedy.

WSAU

It only took about four hours for a Wood County jury to reach a verdict in a reckless homicide case, finding 18-year-old Miguel-Angel Oertel guilty in the shooting death of Theresa Coates last August at her Saratoga home.

The victim’s daughter had broken up with Oertel earlier in the day, and Oertel traveled to the Coates home with a shotgun, claiming he wanted to commit suicide. Oertel said Coates grabbed the barrel and the gun went off as they struggled. Oertel then shot himself in the face.. The jury decided he did intentionally pull the trigger, striking Coates in the chest.

The trial has immediately moved to the second phase, which took only an hour to determine Oertel did have a mental illness, but that illness did not affect his judgement or decision making abilities. Oertel did plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

The jury had to decide if Oertel was guilty of reckless or negligent homicide, and they decided reckless homicide was appropriate. That charge also carries the potential for more prison time. Sentencing will take place June 13th.

WSAU

The victim of a Monday night shooting in Wood County has been identified as 47-year-old Theresa Coates. Sherff’s Captain Quentin Ellis said Coates was shot by her daughter’s boyfriend, 17-year-old Miguel Oertel. The teen then turned the gun on himself and remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Ellis said he was told Oertel’s injuries are not life-threatening.

Just hours before the shooting, Oertel and Theresa Coates’ 17-year-old daughter had pleaded no contest to stealing Coates’ car in January, turning up two days later in Nebraska. The teens agreed to a plea deal that found them guilty of disorderly conduct, and each were ordered to pay fines of 829-dollars. Ellis said any link between that case and Coates’ murder would be “speculative.”

“I can comment on the facts that we’ve established from this case, and while two 17-year-olds may have had an interaction in court, to say that the two are related would be speculative at this point.”

The shooting that killed Theresa Coates happened about 10 p.m. Monday at a residence in the Town of Saratoga following a disturbance. Ellis said Oertel, who’s under guard in the hospital, has not been interviewed, and so no motive for the shooting has been established.

WDLB