Our Lantern Will Be Lit from 11/14/18 to 11/20/18

Since October 2013, Hope House has joined with other domestic violence programs around the state by implementing the Lantern Project. For our part in this statewide project, we added to the lamppost in front of Hope House a purple wreath. We will turn on the light for a week every time there is a death related to domestic violence in Wisconsin. We will post information online about the person(s) that was killed. If you drive by our building and see our lamppost on, please reflect on the deadly impact that domestic violence has on our communities. 

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October 30th, 2018    Dalton Ziegler - Age 24, Dane, WI

Obituary
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MADISON (WKOW) – A prosecutor says a 20-year-old woman’s suspicions about her boyfriend’s infidelity led to his fatal beating.

That woman, McKayla Tracy of Lodi, was weeping through the entirety of a bail hearing Thursday at the Dane County courthouse.

Authorities say her boyfriend, 24-year-old Dalton Ziegler, was found Tuesday at his Dane home on Highway 113.

Deputy Dane County District Attorney Matthew Moeser says Tracy was living at the home and summoned Drew Luber of DeForest and Jacob Johnson of Sun Prairie to the home to confront Ziegler over his alleged cheating.

“Mr. Johnson struck Mr. Ziegler multiple times, likely while Mr. Lueber was holding him,” Moeser says. “While Mr. Ziegler was on the ground, Mr. Johnson made statements to the police suggesting he kicked him to make sure he was breathing.”

Tracy’s attorney, Greg Dutch, says Tracy tried to intervene to spare Ziegler.

“It appears she was in a corner telling the two co-defendants to stop,” Dutch says.

But Moeser says Tracy, Luber and Johnson left Ziegler at the home, took his debit card and $25 and spent the money and used the card at a gas station.  Moeser says another woman who was at the home at the time of beating also left, but returned 16 minutes later to call 911, but it was too late.

Moeser says felony murder charges will be filed against Tracy, Luber and Johnson.  Felony murder involves a death taking place in connection with the commission of another crime.

Court Commissioner Jason Hansen set bail at $50,000 for Tracy and Luber, and $35,000 for Johnson, noting Johnson’s absence of any criminal record.  Tracy and Luber both have drug convictions and Luber has a pending case on charges including battery.

If the three remain jailed by Monday, they will again appear in court with charges filed against them.
 

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