DARLINGTON - Jaren M. Kuester, convicted of brutally killing three Wiota farmers in April, was sentenced Friday, Jan. 31 to life in the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.
Kuester pleaded guilty to three charges of first-degree intentional homicide in Lafayette County Circuit Court in December. In court Friday, Judge William Foust explained Kuester's case is being handled in a bifurcated fashion. This means Kuester was found guilty due to his guilty plea in December but the second phase of the case, handled Friday, was to determine whether Kuester was responsible for the murders due to a mental disease at the time of the murders.
Kuester was found to have a mental disease at the time, and Foust found Kuester not guilty of first-degree homicide due to a mental disease. That means Kuester will not go to prison, but instead spend the rest of his life in a mental institution.
Kuester was found guilty of murdering Gary Thoreson, 70, his wife Chloe Thoreson, 66, and Gary's brother Dean Thoreson, 76. Court records indicate Kuester broke into Gary and Chloe Thoreson's unoccupied house on Philippine road in rural Wiota late at night on April 26. He was seeking a warm place to sleep after abandoning his car several miles away and discarding most of his clothes because he feared someone was tracking him. The next day he killed the three Thoresons with a fireplace poker he found in the home.
Kuester first murdered Dean Thoreson, who arrived in his brother Gary's home to check on things while Gary and Chloe were on vacation. Kuester attempted to cover the body with a sheet. Then when Gary and Chloe came home a short time later, Kuester stabbed and bludgeoned them both to death and put their bodies in the bathroom.
Several psychiatrists had the chance to diagnose Kuester, and all three came to a similar conclusion: that he is a danger to himself and others. Craig Schoenecker said in court Friday he diagnosed Kuester with schitzoaffective disorder, a mental disorder characterized by mood swings, paranoid delusions and jumbled speech or thinking processes.
"I believe his behavior is a direct consequence of delusions," Schoenecker said. "He told me he felt supernatural forces compelling him to act in the name of God or Jesus Christ."
Kuester has had a long history of mental illness. His demeanor during past court processions has been erratic; in September he refused to answer procedural questions. Kuester, who has been receiving psychiatric care while in custody, appeared more competent at Friday's hearing, although he kept his chin firmly pressed to his chest most of the time, and only briefly and shyly glancing up when the Thoreson's son got up to speak.
Bryan Thoreson, son of Chloe and Gary Thoreson, described his uncle Dean as his role model. He said his parents were fun-loving hobbyists with diverse interests and strong ties to the community. He said his mother had gone paragliding just weeks before her death. He said her father was a school board member for two terms and enjoyed photography.
"Mom and Dad viewed life as a gift, and Jaren Kuester took that from them," Bryan Thoreson said. "You showed no mercy in their brutal deaths, and you deserve the same, no mercy."
Krista Kriel, a former probation officer and the Thoreson's daughter spoke from the witness stand, occasionally staring directly at Kuester to deliver her emotional testimony about her parents and uncle.
She described a particular memory of her parents' visit to California shortly before their deaths. She said her mother danced with Kriel's daughter to a Bob Seger song, and she painted a mural in her son's room. She said she used to call her parents once or twice a week, but now, "my phone is so quiet."
Foust handed down the sentence and apologized to the Thoresons' family for their loss, as well as to the Kuesters whose son will probably never leave the institution.
"Nothing I do today can undo what has been done," Foust said.
He told the Thoresons to keep the good memories of their parents and uncle in mind. "Remember their values, and carry them forward with you," he said.
Kuester pleaded guilty to three charges of first-degree intentional homicide in Lafayette County Circuit Court in December. In court Friday, Judge William Foust explained Kuester's case is being handled in a bifurcated fashion. This means Kuester was found guilty due to his guilty plea in December but the second phase of the case, handled Friday, was to determine whether Kuester was responsible for the murders due to a mental disease at the time of the murders.
Kuester was found to have a mental disease at the time, and Foust found Kuester not guilty of first-degree homicide due to a mental disease. That means Kuester will not go to prison, but instead spend the rest of his life in a mental institution.
Kuester was found guilty of murdering Gary Thoreson, 70, his wife Chloe Thoreson, 66, and Gary's brother Dean Thoreson, 76. Court records indicate Kuester broke into Gary and Chloe Thoreson's unoccupied house on Philippine road in rural Wiota late at night on April 26. He was seeking a warm place to sleep after abandoning his car several miles away and discarding most of his clothes because he feared someone was tracking him. The next day he killed the three Thoresons with a fireplace poker he found in the home.
Kuester first murdered Dean Thoreson, who arrived in his brother Gary's home to check on things while Gary and Chloe were on vacation. Kuester attempted to cover the body with a sheet. Then when Gary and Chloe came home a short time later, Kuester stabbed and bludgeoned them both to death and put their bodies in the bathroom.
Several psychiatrists had the chance to diagnose Kuester, and all three came to a similar conclusion: that he is a danger to himself and others. Craig Schoenecker said in court Friday he diagnosed Kuester with schitzoaffective disorder, a mental disorder characterized by mood swings, paranoid delusions and jumbled speech or thinking processes.
"I believe his behavior is a direct consequence of delusions," Schoenecker said. "He told me he felt supernatural forces compelling him to act in the name of God or Jesus Christ."
Kuester has had a long history of mental illness. His demeanor during past court processions has been erratic; in September he refused to answer procedural questions. Kuester, who has been receiving psychiatric care while in custody, appeared more competent at Friday's hearing, although he kept his chin firmly pressed to his chest most of the time, and only briefly and shyly glancing up when the Thoreson's son got up to speak.
Bryan Thoreson, son of Chloe and Gary Thoreson, described his uncle Dean as his role model. He said his parents were fun-loving hobbyists with diverse interests and strong ties to the community. He said his mother had gone paragliding just weeks before her death. He said her father was a school board member for two terms and enjoyed photography.
"Mom and Dad viewed life as a gift, and Jaren Kuester took that from them," Bryan Thoreson said. "You showed no mercy in their brutal deaths, and you deserve the same, no mercy."
Krista Kriel, a former probation officer and the Thoreson's daughter spoke from the witness stand, occasionally staring directly at Kuester to deliver her emotional testimony about her parents and uncle.
She described a particular memory of her parents' visit to California shortly before their deaths. She said her mother danced with Kriel's daughter to a Bob Seger song, and she painted a mural in her son's room. She said she used to call her parents once or twice a week, but now, "my phone is so quiet."
Foust handed down the sentence and apologized to the Thoresons' family for their loss, as well as to the Kuesters whose son will probably never leave the institution.
"Nothing I do today can undo what has been done," Foust said.
He told the Thoresons to keep the good memories of their parents and uncle in mind. "Remember their values, and carry them forward with you," he said.