Lawmakers spar over penalty for hiding corpses

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A panel of lawmakers has approved a proposal that would increase the penalty for hiding a corpse.

Under current law, hiding a corpse to cover up a crime or avoid arrest is a Class G felony. Violators can be punished by a fine of up to $25,000 and as many as 10 years in prison. The proposal, Assembly Bill 202, would increase the penalty to a Class F felony, meaning the maximum fine would be the same but the maximum prison sentence would increase to 12-1/2 years.

The Assembly Committee on Public Safety and Judiciary approved the bill by a 11-1 vote Thursday. State Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, was the only committee member to vote against the bill.

The bill still requires a vote of the full Legislature and signature of Gov. Scott Walker to become law.

Before the vote, Kessler said he could not understand why the maximum sentence for hiding a corpse should be increased by 2-1/2 years.

“I’m trying to figure out why we need that slight increase,” he said.

Committee Republicans responded by asking Kessler if he was on the side of “corpse-hiders.”

Fellow Democrat state Rep. Goyke, who ultimately voted for the bill, defended Kessler, noting that the change will probably not prevent people from hiding corpses. Anyone who commits a misdeed of that sort, Goyke said, is not behaving rationally and would be unlikely to care about the increased penalty or to look up the statute before deciding to hide a corpse.

He said the crime was rare and that he should like to see some examples of cases that have been recently tried.

State Rep. Cody Horlacher, R-Mukgwonago, noted a recent case that is pending in Walworth County. A former police officer there stands accused of hiding the bodies of two women in suit cases and dumping them in the town of Geneva.

The committee chairman, state Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomoc, said the bill’s purpose is to get some justice for the family and friends of the victims in similar cases.

Goyke said he was voting for the bill because it makes the penalty for hiding a corpse the same as that for mutilating a corpse. The crimes, he said, should have similar penalties.

Kessler, Goyke and Horlacher are attorneys. Goyke is a former public defender and Kessler is a former Milwaukee County Judge. Horlacher earned his law degree from Marquette University Law School last year. Follow @erikastrebel