A retired cop with ALS has been
charged with shooting dead his wife and sister-in-law just days after friends
raised thousands of pounds for him doing the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Former Dane County Sheriff’s
Deputy Andrew Steele, 39, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide
in the death of his wife Ashley, 39, and sister-in-law Kacee Tollefsbol, 38.
Prosecutors allege Steele
killed the sisters at his home in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, on August 22.
He is then accused of trying to
kill himself, but prosecutors have not yet offered a motive for the deaths.
The killings came just days
after the victims and Steele’s friends took part in the ALS ice bucket
challenge and raised £14,000 towards his medical expenses. The family were
reportedly trying to raise £45,000.
The former lawman was diagnosed
with motor neurone disease earlier this summer after noticing a shaking in his
arm and slurred speech.
According to legal documents
police were called to the house by Kacee who said she had been shot.
A Swat team arrived shortly
after and found the woman in the basement with a gunshout wound to the back.
She again claimed Steele had shot her before dying around an hour later.
Officers then found Ashley’s
body in the master bedroom. She had been shot in the head and had zip tie
wrapped around her throat.
The legal report claims Steele
was in the laundry room trying to kill himself by carbon monoxide poisoning
using a charcoal grill that was alight.
In a court hearing last Friday,
Steele’s lawyer, Jessa Nicholson, said she plans to investigate her client’s
mental state.
Steele, who appeared in court
via video conference, faces two life sentences if convicted.
