WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A trial is scheduled to start Monday for a 1992 double murder in Waupaca County. Here’s what to know about the case:
What happened?
The bodies of Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue were found in a rural Royalton farmhouse on March 21, 1992. When they were killed, Togstad was 23 and Mumbrue was 35. Togstad died of one stab wound to the chest, while Mumbrue was stabbed multiple times, according to the autopsy report cited in the criminal complaint. A dog was also killed.
When were charges filed, and against whom?
Charges were filed Aug. 12, 2022, against Tony Haase. Now 54, he was 21 at the time of the murders.
What was he charged with?
Haase faces two counts of first-degree murder. The laws in place at the time of the crime are used. Now, similar murder cases are charged as “first-degree intentional homicide,” but that changed since the deaths.
What took so long to file charges?
Police identified Haase as a suspect, and a DNA sample was taken from him during a traffic stop in July 2022. Test results showed him to be a “major male contributor” to the fluids recovered from Togstad’s body, the complaint states. After those DNA tests were returned, Haase was interviewed by police, and charges were filed.
What did Haase tell police?
Haase initially denied any involvement, but during questioning, he eventually admitted to the murders, according to the criminal complaint.
Eventually, Haase disclosed to investigators that his father had been killed in a snowmobile accident when he was 5 or 8 years old. Investigators had discovered Haase’s father died on Dec. 31, 1977, when Haase was 7 years old.
Haase continued and described that his father was operating a snowmobile in a group of three that was racing. The second snowmobile hit his father’s, and his father was killed. The third snowmobile then ran over the driver of the second. He described it as a horrible accident. One of those drivers was Togstad’s father.
Haase explained that on the evening of March 20, 1992, he became very drunk as he went from one bar to another by himself. For some reason, he started to think about the accident that killed his father. Those thoughts led to him going to the home of Tanna Togstad.
Haase could not articulate why he went there but insisted it was not to hurt anyone. He described himself as being in a drunken stupor that night. Haase describes getting into a “scuffle” with Mumbrue. He could not remember if he had brought a knife or if the knife was at the house. During the “scuffle,” he and Mumbrue were wrestling while standing up, and he moved his arm in a stabbing motion toward Mumbrue’s chest. He described Mumbrue falling to the floor near the foot of the bed.
Haase remembered Togstad yelling, “What the (expletive),” and that is when he punched her in the face. It is believed he would have knocked her out at this time.
At some point, Togstad started to stir, and that is when he stabbed her in the chest.
When asked why he didn’t tell investigators right away, Haase replied, “I didn’t want it to sound like I had it planned.” Haase told investigators he did not know why he did it. At this point, Haase told investigators when he saw the news report he thought, “Holy (expletive), what did I do?” the complaint states.
What did the defense — and the courts — say about the DNA evidence?
The defense challenged the admissibility of the DNA evidence, arguing the “ruse traffic stop” used to get the sample was unconstitutional. The judge ruled against the motion. A defense attempt for the appeals court to review the decision before trial was denied.
Is there another suspect?
The defense will argue there is. In Wisconsin, defendants need to get permission through what’s known as a Denny motion to argue to the jury there is an alternate suspect actually responsible for the crime. That happened in June.
In this case, Haase will argue one of his relatives — who died in 1995 — is the killer.
What do prosecutors say about that?
Prosecutors opposed the motion when it was filed. After it was granted, the state got permission to exhume the alternate suspect’s body to test his DNA, in an effort to show fluid samples from the crime scene do not match that persons.
What were the results?
Assistant Attorney General Amy Ohtani, a special prosecutor on the case, said the results show the suspects DNA does not match anything found at the scene, confirming prior results.
So, the jury will hear about the tests?
No.
Why?
Because the summary of the test results were not returned until July 2 — less than two weeks before the start of the trial — Judge Raymond Huber ruled there wasn’t enough time to allow the defense proper time to react to the results, get experts to analyze it, and offer counter testimony. The judge noted the identity of the alternate suspect was known to prosecutors — and investigated by police — long before the exhumation.
“You had years to exhume his body and obtain his DNA. That wasn’t done, so I am going to exclude the results. It’s just not timely,” the judge said, addressing prosecutors.
The judge said he would listen to a motion from the state to delay the trial to allow the defense time to prepare for such evidence, but prosecutors ultimately did not do so.
The state will be allowed to use fingerprint evidence from the exhumation, however.
What’s next with the trial?
Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday at a Waupaca school.
Why?
Space. The original pool was 350 prospective jurors. After a questionnaire was sent out, that pool has been whittled to 261, Judge Huber said last Monday. There isn’t space in any Waupaca County courtroom for a group that size. The trial itself will be at the Courthouse.
How many jurors will be selected?
The pool will eventually be whittled down to 18 jurors to hear the case. That way, if any need to be excused before the case is concluded, the trial doesn’t have to stop. Before jury deliberations begin, the alternates will be selected and the jury reduced to the 12 who will deliberate.
How long will the trial last?
The court has scheduled up to six weeks, though attorneys have said it may not take that long.
And if Haase is convicted?
He faces life prison terms if convicted of the first-degree murder charge. Any sentencing hearing would likely take place about two months after the end of the trial.
