A Wisconsin cop suffering from ALS who allegedly killed his wife and sister-in-law had his bail increased to $2 million after prosecutors said he carefully planned the murders, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Prosecutors argued Thursday that Andrew P. Steele, a sheriff's deputy from Fitchburg, left evidence on his cellphone indicating he premeditated shooting his wife, Ashlee Steele, and her sister, Kacee Tollefsbol, at the couple's house on Aug. 22. He also made sure that Tollefsbol was alone when she traveled from Minnesota to visit her sister.
Due to the nature of the evidence, the Dane County judge agreed to increase the 39-year-old's bail from $1 million to $2 million, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
"Because of the meticulous planning and premeditation involved, there is a risk to other family members (including his own children) and to the community should the defendant be released or his bond lowered," wrote Assistant District Attorney Andrea Raymond.
Before the murders, Andrew Steele spoke to his parents about taking care of his two kids, ages 10 and 13, in case something happened to their mother Ashlee Steele, Raymond wrote. Andrew also signed his wife's will within 36 hours of the murders, suggesting "he had a timeline for the homicides."
Investigators found a note the sheriff left on his phone with details of the murders, including different ways to kill Ashlee, 39, and Tollefsbol, 38, prosecutors said according to the newspaper.
The cop made sure that when Tollefsbol visited their Fitchburg home from Wisconsin, she would be traveling without her husband and kids back in Minnesota, her family told investigators.
Andrew is currently on medical leave following his June diagnosis with the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. His defense attorney, Jessa Nicholson, argued that he was not a flight risk and will most likely need a wheelchair in the near future, the newspaper reported.
The defendant will probably die in two to five years, Nicholson wrote.
Andrew pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
