Andy Steele
A former Dane County Sheriff’s Deputy accused of killing his wife and sister-in-law a week ago has been formally charged in court. Prosecutors on Friday filed two count of First Degree Intentional Homicide against 39-year-old Andy Steele. He’s accused of fatally shooting his 39-year-old Wife Ashley Steele and her 38-year-old sister Kacee Tollefsbol last Friday, at the couple’s home in Fitchburg.
Steele appeared in Dane County court via a video feed from the Rock County jail, where he’s currently being held to avoid a conflict of interest with jail personnel. Steele recently retired from the sheriff’s department after he was diagnosed with ALS. A judge set bail at $1 million and ordered Steele not to have contact with his children or the family of the victims.
According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to Steele’s home last Friday afternoon after a 911 call reporting someone with a gunshot wound in the basement. Initial officers on the scene found 38-year-old Kacee Tollefsbol, his wife’s sister, inside the basement door covered with blood. Tollefsbol was concious, saying “I’m dying.” When asked who shot her, she responded “My brother-in-law.” She was later transported to a Madison hospital with a gunshot wound to the back, where she was pronounced dead.
The Dane County Sheriff’s tactical team was called in to the enter the residence and police found Andy Steele inside a laundry room with a lit portable grill next to him. Ashlee Steele was found on a bed, with a gunshot wound to the head and a black zip tie around her neck.
A memorial service for Ashlee and Kacee was scheduled to take place today in Minnesota.
Andy Steele will be back in court on September 4th.