A Wisconsin man has been accused with murdering a lady and her boyfriend in 1992 in apparent retaliation for the death of his father in a snowmobile accident when the suspect was only seven years old.
In March 1992, Tony Haase, 52, of Weyauwega, Wisconsin, was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of Tanna Togstad, 23, and her partner Timothy Mumbrue, 35.
It is unknown how investigators arrived at the conclusion that Haase was a likely suspect, but they did so after decades of investigation.
According to a criminal complaint, Haase revealed to investigators on Thursday that he had gotten intoxicated on March 20, 1992 and began thinking about the 1977 snowmobile accident in which Togstad’s father, a friend of Haase’s father, was involved.
He said that he went to Togstad’s residence that night, stating that he had no intention of harming anybody, but that he had “snippets” of recollections of stabbing Togstad and Mumbrue.
Togstad died from a single knife wound to the chest, whereas Mumbrue sustained numerous stab wounds, as determined by an autopsy. In the incident, Togstad’s dog was also stabbed to death.
Haase is now being held on a $2 million bail and risks life in prison. Tuesday is his return date to the Waupaca County Circuit Court.
Richard Togstad, Tanna’s brother, said to FOX 11 after Haase’s arrest on Thursday, “It’s been a long time coming for our family.” Wisconsin investigators had long believed Haase was involved in the double homicide, but they were only able to get a DNA sample from him during a traffic encounter on July 6.
According to the criminal complaint, a Wisconsin State Crime Lab analyst discovered on July 18 that the DNA was “compatible with the profile previously identified from the bodily fluids retrieved from the corpse of Togstad.”
According to the complaint, he was detained on Thursday at his workplace, the Waupaca Foundry, and taken in for interrogation.
Haase first denied any involvement in the deaths of Togstad and Mumbrue, according to the criminal complaint, but later acknowledged ‘he was frightened he was implicated,’ investigators claim.
Haase then informed detectives that, on the night of the killings, he was alone and travelling from bar to bar when, for some reason, he began to reflect about the accident that killed his father.
“These ideas led him to Tanna Togstad’s residence,” the lawsuit states.
He reportedly said he came to her remote Royalton farmhouse, saying he did not want to harm anybody there.
Haase reportedly said that he did not recall whether he took a knife to the residence or if he grabbed one there.
According to the criminal complaint, however, he and Mumbrue engaged in a’scuffle’ during which Haase claims he made a’stabbing gesture’ at Mumbrue’s breast. Then he recalled that Mumbrue had fallen to the ground at the foot of the bed.
Haase reportedly told investigators that he recalled Togstad saying “What the f***?” at this point, and that he then hit her in the face.
Investigators think he knocked her unconscious at this point, but as Togstad began to wake, Haase stabbed her in the chest, according to the criminal complaint.
Haase allegedly told police he ‘didn’t want it to seem like I had it planned,’ adding that it wasn’t until he watched a news story about the deaths that he questioned himself, ‘Holy f***, what did I do?’
Long ago, investigators suspected that the killer knew Togstad personally and murdered Mumbrue out of hatred.
Tanna worked as a machine operator at Kratt’s Churney Cheese, where she had been employed since graduating from New London Senior High School in 1987, while Mumbrue worked second shift in the core room at the Waupaca Foundry.
After dating for less than a year, the pair was last seen alive at a bar between 11.30pm and midnight on March 20, 1992.
Several hours later, Tanna’s sister, Veronica, who lived in the mobile home next door, reported seeing a small pickup vehicle pull out of the driveway at around 4:00 a.m. and go west toward Tanna’s residence.
In the subsequent inquiry, officials reported conducting between 500 and 600 interviews with individuals who knew Togstad and Mumbrure.
On the 10th anniversary of the murder, Sgt. Don Conat, a detective with the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department, told the Appleton Post-Crescent, “There is no question that he was obsessed with her.”
In 2002, DCI Special Agent Kim Skorlinski also said, ‘It was a murder scene displaying a spectrum of emotions.’
She said that the murder of Timothy Mumbrue was clearly motivated by rage. In contrast, ‘the man had strong emotions for Tanna’
Attorney General Josh Kaul said, after the arrest of Haase last week, that this arrest was the result of detectives’ persistent pursuit of justice over the period of three decades.
“Many thanks to all those whose dedication to our investigation made this arrest possible.”