Leroy Kuhnke (Photo courtesy: Wisconsin Department of Corrections)
WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A man convicted for a 1995 murder in Waupaca County was denied by the state appeals court Thursday in his bid for records to see how he was being investigated for the then-unsolved murders of Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue.
Leroy Kuhnke, 55, is serving a prison term for the Oct. 6, 1995 murder of Jeffrey McGlin. Last year, Kuhnke requested “all documents” related to the investigation in the March 1992 murders of Togstad and Mumbrue.
For informational purposes, the requestor was deemed a prime suspect by Sheriff’s Department investigators at the onset of the case, scrutinized over the years for the crime, was again the prime suspect in 2020 as revealed to him by Detectives Artz and Cameron, and because the documents requested relate to the requestor, the demand is proper despite the requestor being incarcerated,” states the appeal decision released Thursday.
Kuhnke was not charged in that case, however. Tony Haase was charged in August of 2022 – after Kuhnke said he was being investigated.
No trial date has been set for Haase, who returns to court March 20 for a review hearing.
As for Kuhnke, in March 2023, he requested the investigative records from the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department, but it denied the request as “[d]isclosure would interfere with an ongoing prosecution as this is still an open case with the Waupaca County District Attorney’s Office.”
Kuhnke appealed to the circuit court, which also denied the request.
Kuhnke then took to the case to the appeals court, which denied it again with today’s 12-page ruling. The appeals described Kuhnke’s motion in this way:
In this case, Kuhnke asserts that he was the subject of an investigation of two 1992 homicides. Kuhnke further asserts that DNA evidence and statements against self-interest caused another person to be arrested and charged in relation to those homicides. Kuhnke contends that if he obtains the requested records they will reveal misconduct and mistreatment that will enable him “to attack” the criminal conviction on which he is incarcerated and to pursue “a cause of action” separate from his criminal case.
But the court rejected his arguments.
In sum, we conclude that Kuhnke fails to show that he has a clear legal right to the records that he requested,” the court said. “For the reasons stated, we conclude that Kuhnke has no clear legal right to the records he requested and, therefore, the circuit court properly dismissed his petition for a writ of mandamus.
Togstad, 23, and her boyfriend, Mumbrue, 35, were found stabbed to death in their Royalton farmhouse on March 21, 1992. Togstad died of one stab wound to the chest, while Mumbrue was stabbed multiple times, according to the autopsy report cited in the criminal complaint. The couple’s pet dog was also stabbed and killed.
Police identified Haase as a suspect, and a DNA sample was taken from him during a traffic stop. Test results showed him to be a “major male contributor” to the fluids recovered from Togstad’s body, the complaint states.
Haase initially denied any involvement, but during questioning, he eventually admitted to the murders.
Haase disclosed to investigators that his father had been killed in a snowmobile accident when he was 5 or 8 years old. Investigators had discovered Haase’s father died on Dec. 31, 1977 when Haase was 7 years old.
Haase continued and described that his father was operating a snowmobile in a group of three that was racing. The second snowmobile hit his father’s, and his father was killed. The third snowmobile then ran over the driver of the second. He described it as a horrible accident. One of the other snowmobile drivers was Tanna Togstad’s father.
Haase explained that on the evening of March 20, 1992, he became very drunk as he went from one bar to another by himself. For some reason, he started to think about the accident that killed his father. Those thoughts led to him going to the home of Tanna Togstad.
Haase could not articulate why he went there but insisted it was not to hurt anyone. He described himself as being in a drunken stupor that night. Haase describes getting into a “scuffle” with Mumbrue. He could not remember if he had brought a knife or if the knife was at the house. During the “scuffle,” he and Mumbrue were wrestling while standing up, and he moved his arm in a stabbing motion toward Mumbrue’s chest. He described Mumbrue falling to the floor near the foot of the bed.
Haase remembered Togstad yelling, “What the f—,” and that is when he punched her in the face. It is believed he would have knocked her out at this time. At some point, Togstad started to stir, and that is when he stabbed her in the chest.
When asked why he didn’t tell investigators right away, Haase replied, “I didn’t want it to sound like I had it planned.” Haase told investigators he did not know why he did it. At this point, Haase told investigators when he saw the news report he thought, “Holy f—, what did I do?” the complaint states.
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