Randal Rosenthal PC: Fox 11 Online
BRILLION, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A man serving life in prison for killing his mother and dumping her body in the Fox River lost an appeal for a new trial Tuesday.
Randal Rosenthal was convicted for the July 2011 death of Kathleen Remter, whose body was found floating in the Fox River, near the Rapid Croche Dam. She had been shot in the back of the head.
Rosenthal’s appeal raised several issues, including new evidence that a jail inmate, Justin Douglas, who testified Rosenthal confessed to the murder, later sent letters which could be interpreted as showing remorse for how the trial played out.
“Rosenthal argues that because Douglas was the only witness who testified that Rosenthal admitted to the crime, letters suggesting that he might recant his testimony were material to the case and to his credibility. Rosenthal claims the fourth criterion is met because the letters were not cumulative to other evidence. We are not persuaded. The letters do not reference the trial or Douglas’s testimony. Therefore, as the circuit court recognized, the evidence was speculative, leaving the court to guess about the purpose of the letters and their meaning. Although the letters suggest that Douglas felt remorse for Rosenthal’s conviction, the letters do not state that Douglas testified falsely or otherwise intended to recant his testimony. Further, without knowing the meaning behind the letters, the court could not determine if they would be cumulative to other trial evidence or otherwise material to the case. Even assuming the letters could be broadly interpreted as a recantation, Rosenthal failed to show any corroboration of this purported recantation,” the court wrote.
The appeals court also rejected the multiple other claims.
Rosenthal is eligible to request parole in 2061.
Rosenthal’s first appeal was denied in 2014, when he argued he should have been allowed to present evidence that his mother’s boyfriend killed her.
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