17-year-old charged in 2 deaths

Listen to this article

By DANA FERGUSON
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 17-year-old was charged Thursday with killing his ex-girlfriend’s sister and a man at a home in Mazomanie.

Dean Sutcliffe made an initial court appearance and was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of 16-year-old Ariyl Brady and 39-year-old Christopher Schwichtenberg, who was dating Brady’s mother. He could face life in prison if convicted. Court Commissioner Jason Hanson set cash bail at $2 million.

Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney said Sutcliffe was apparently upset after ending a five-month relationship with Brady’s 15-year-old sister, who had recently gone to live with her father. According to the criminal complaint, he was mad at Brady because he believed she had forced his ex to move away.

Sutcliffe did not enter a plea during Thursday’s hearing. His public defender said Sutcliffe would not be able to pay any amount of bail.

Mahoney said Sutcliffe went to the Brady residence at the Rio Valley Mobile Home Community on Monday night with a handgun. Mahoney said Sutcliffe’s ex-girlfriend wasn’t there at the time of the shooting.

Sutcliffe started shooting after he was let into the family’s home, Brady’s mother, Mary Brady, said, according to the complaint. The mother and Schwichtenberg’s two sons, who also lived in the mobile home, were not injured.

Sutcliffe was arrested at the scene and allegedly confessed to deputies.

“I did something really bad,” he said, according to the complaint. “I walked an hour and a half and killed two people.”

He was then booked into Dane County Jail.

The teens attended Wisconsin Heights High School.