Waukesha homicide case; attorneys debate how woman died
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Waukesha man accused of killing his girlfriend and hiding her body is bound over for trial.
The 44-year-old woman’s body was found in a wooded area off Golf Road in Delafield on Sept. 9, 2022. Just over a year later, prosecutors charged Matthew Pahl.
Wednesday, defense attorneys argued that no one knows how the woman died.
"In the autopsy, was there any evidence of any blunt force trauma?" asked defense attorney Amanda Nimmer.
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Detective Brian Fredericks responded "no."
"Any broken bones?"
"No."
Investigators said the woman had been missing for three weeks and her on-and-off boyfriend, Pahl, never filed a police report.
Matthew Pahl
They said they have surveillance video showing Pahl and the woman leaving their apartment together on Aug. 22, 2022. After a physical therapy appointment near where the body was found, detectives sid Pahl returned to the apartment alone, carrying the victim’s belongings.
Investigators say Pahl searched local obituaries online. He also read articles on the investigation and even pretended to be her online.
"We have to ask ourselves, if she died naturally, if she committed suicide, what is the purpose of that?" prosecutor Jack Pitzo asked.
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Defense attorneys tried to get the whole case thrown out.
"The state has absolutely no idea how she died," Nimmer said. "They can’t say Mr. Pahl killed her, and they can’t say that he did it intentionally."
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The court commissioner said there was probable cause, even if the evidence is circumstantial.
"The defendant’s actions, statements certainly prove a reasonable inference can be drawn," prosecutor Kristi Gordon said.
Prosecutors said Pahl even made a list of countries with extradition laws and those that don’t. In September, a court commissioner set Pahl’s case bond at $2 million.