Jury finds teen guilty in woman’s fatal shooting

By: Associated Press//April 21, 2016//

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WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (AP) — A jury has found a central Wisconsin teenager guilty of first-degree reckless homicide for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend’s mother.

Daily Tribune Media reports jurors are now deliberating whether 18-year-old Miguel-Angel Oertel of Nekoosa was mentally ill when he shot 47-year-old Theresa Coates at her Saratoga home last August.

Oertel testified Tuesday he went to Coates’ home because he wanted to see her daughter one more time before he killed himself, and brought a shotgun. He said Coates grabbed the barrel and the gun went off as they struggled. Oertel then shot himself in the face.

In closing arguments, Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert said Oertel created the risk of death by his actions.

Defense attorney Michael Hughes argued Oertel didn’t know the gun was pointed at Coates.

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