APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The man accused of killing his mother last year pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect at a hearing Thursday.
Bradley Boettcher, 36, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the Feb. 20, 2019, death of Lee Ann Dorn at her Appleton apartment. No trial date was set. Boettcher returns to court July 13 for a plea hearing.
The parties all appeared video conference, pursuant to the state Supreme Court ruling limiting in-person hearings.
Thursday’s plea means the defense is raising the issue of Boettcher’s mental state at the time of the alleged crime. If the court or a jury found him guilty of the murder, a second trial phase would determine if Boettcher should be held responsible due to his mental condition. If “yes,” he would be sentenced to prison. If “no,” he would be committed for psychiatric treatment.
Dorn was killed in February and Boettcher was arrested the next day in Kentucky, but charges were not filed until September.
According to the criminal complaint, Dorn and Boettcher lived together. They would often argue about him moving out, and he would threaten to kill her, several people said. Dorn died of blunt force trauma to the head, the complaint states.
