Court documents released today allege an Ottumwa area man shot and killed his pregnant wife because he wanted to continue an affair. Wappello County Sheriff Don Kirkendall said very little about the case in a news conference today after handing out the court information.
He said the past few days have been very tough for his department as they investigated the case. Kirkendall was asked to describe the victim, 23-year-old Lisa Techel.
The sheriff says he has known her since birth and she was very focused on becoming a law enforcement officer. Techel had served as reserve officer in the Wapello County Sheriff’s Department and had worked at the Washington County Jail. Her father is a deputy sheriff in Wapello County.
Kirkendall says the best way to sum up Techel is “one super young individual who knew what they wanted to do and was taking steps to properly get there.” Techel’s funeral was this morning.
Her husband, 21-one-year-old Seth Techel was arrested Wednesday night and charged with first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy. The shooting took place last week at the couple’s home outside Agency, a small town near Ottumwa.
Seth Techel had recently been offered a job at the Wapello County Jail. The Techels were married in October of last year. Court information released today said officers do not believe anyone else was involved in Techel’s murder.
By Mike Buchanan, KBIZ, Ottumwa