A man, a woman he divorced and her teenage daughter were found shot to death in a western Wisconsin home soon after someone from the residence called law enforcement for help, authorities said.
The killings, likely being investigated as a double-murder suicide, occurred Friday night at a home in the 600 block of 26th Street in Chetek, roughly 50 miles east of the state's border with Minnesota.
The three all lived in the home in the town of about 2,100 residents. The Barron County Sheriff's Office identified them as John Hengst, 55, Brenda Turner, 55, and Natalie Turner, 17.
Court records show that Hengst and Brenda Turner divorced 14 months ago, and Hengst had been Natalie Turner's stepfather, said Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald.
The Sheriff's Office said, "There is no danger to the public," a statement law enforcement often uses when dealing with a case of murder-suicide.
Further supporting that the killings were carried out by one of the deceased, Fitzgerald told WEAU-TV in nearby Eau Claire that foul play was involved, "but it's contained inside the residence. We're not searching for anybody, we're not looking for anybody, we don't plan on arrests forthcoming in this case. We have all the evidence; we just need to put it together."
A gun was recovered at the scene by authorities, the sheriff said.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
