OTTUMWA —
A judge has set the trial date for a man accused of killing his pregnant wife.
Seth Techel, 21, of rural Agency, was charged with murder in the first degree and non-consensual termination of a human pregnancy. The court this week scheduled a jury trial for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 6.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, has brought the charges against Techel stemming from the May shooting death of his wife, Lisa Techel, 23. She was 17 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
Lisa Techel was a reserve deputy sheriff with Wapello County and a correctional officer in Washington County.
Seth Techel has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was arrested a few days after his wife’s death on May 26. Investigators from the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation say Lisa Techel was shot once with a shotgun.
Authorities allege in an affidavit that the defendant was seeing another woman, wanted out of his marriage and that his wife was ready to move out of their rural Agency home.
According to the affidavit, during their search around the rural Agency residence, police found a shotgun in nearby tall grass, as well as a prepaid cell phone elsewhere on the property.
Authorities say the shotgun is the murder weapon and the Trac Phone was used to carry on the affair.
Wapello County Sheriff Don Kirkendall told the media he’d known Lisa Techel since her birth. He said he and other sheriff’s employees knew her and liked her.
Kirkendall called the investigation into the murder “tough” because on one hand, officers felt grief over the loss of a friend. On the other hand, those assigned to the case had to remain focused because they had a job to do.
Lisa had family members who worked for the department. Some family representatives have asked that their privacy be respected by the media.
Seth Techel is currently being held in the Monroe County Jail with bond set at $750,000 cash only.
First-degree murder is a Class A felony and carries a life sentence in prison. Nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy, a Class B felony, carries a sentence of up to 25 years.
CNHI/Southeast Iowa
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