OTTUMWA — The husband of a reserve deputy sheriff has been arrested for her murder as well as the death of her unborn child.
“A suspect is in custody in connection with the death of Lisa Techel,” Sheriff Don Kirkendall said Wednesday night. “It’s her husband ... Seth Techel.”
A release from Chief Deputy Mark Miller later said that Seth Techel, 21, of 8723 Fox Hills Road, Agency, was charged with murder in the first degree and non-consensual termination of a human pregnancy.
Why authorities waited to make the arrest, what the possible motive was and other details will have to wait, the sheriff told the Courier. A press conference is scheduled for this afternoon, he said.
What is clear is that the shooting, which occurred Saturday in rural Agency, struck close to home for local law enforcement officials.
The suspect, Seth Techel, was recently hired by the Wapello County Sheriff’s Department as a correctional officer for the Wapello County Jail. Lisa Techel was a reserve deputy sheriff with Wapello County and had served as a correctional officer in Washington County. Her father is a deputy sheriff for Wapello County, while her uncle is an emergency dispatcher for the sheriff’s department.
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©2012 the Ottumwa Courier
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