The murder trial of Kristopher Torgerson moves towards its conclusion with closing arguments set for Friday morning in Marathon County, Wisconsin. Torgerson is charged in the October 2010 death of 22-year-old Stephanie Low. The Wisconsin woman was missing for years before her remains were found in 2014. Torgerson was the one who led authorities to Low’s body in a shallow grave, years after her alleged murder. Torgerson was believed to be at Low’s home looking for drugs, and Low and her boyfriend were known to sell cocaine. Watch the closings in the player above when court begins at approximately 8:30 am local time (9:30 ET/12:30PT).
On Friday, the defense began and finished presented their case, calling just four witnesses to the stand, compared to nearly 40 for the prosection. They were Clifford Hayes, Wasau Police Detectives Jennifer Holz and William Kolb, and Gretchen Huff. Hayes told the court that he and Torgerson were friendly, and that he had sold Torgerson cocaine in the past. Defense attorney Thomas Wilmouth mentioned phone records that showed that Torgerson called Hayes ninel times early in the morning on the day Low disappeared, and Hayes said that was not unusual behavior for Torgerson. Huff said she only knew Torgerson by his nickname “Spider,” but said he called her multiple times too that same morning. She did not recall details of the calls.
A key moment came in Lt. Kolb’s testimony, when he was discussing a conversation he had with prosecution witness Richard Hawkins, where Hawkins recalled taking a car ride with Torgerson, but not knowing anything at the time about Low’s body being in the car at the time. Hawkins also told Kolb that he didn’t notice Low’s body until they stopped at a hardware store, and he didn’t help Torgerson with Low’s body. This contradicted Hawkins’ own testimony, where he said he helped Torgerson remove Low’s body from her home and place it into the car.
Detective Holz’s testimony included discussion of her conversations with Andrea Wadinski, Torgerson’s ex-girlfriend who had testified for the prosecution. Holz acknowledged that Wadinski had lied during the investigation.
Torgerson, who faces up to life in prison, opted not to take the stand.
Jury deliberation could begin as early as Friday afternoon.
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