WAUSAU — Documents filed Tuesday in Marathon County Circuit Court show Kristopher Torgerson plans to appeal his homicide conviction in the 2010 death of Stephanie Low.
Torgerson was convicted March 24 by a jury of killing Low and hiding her body in a wooded area near Wabeno. He was acquitted of attempted armed robbery charges in the case. On June 8, Judge Greg Huber sentenced Torgerson to life in prison without the possibility of supervised release on the homicide charge, followed by 9 years in prison for hiding Low’s body. He is already in prison after being convicted of drug trafficking in an unrelated case.
The notice of appeal, filed by defense attorney Thomas Wilmouth, did not include a basis for the appeal but asks the court to appoint an attorney to represent Torgerson during the appeals process. It is not clear if Wilmouth will continue to represent Torgerson or if another attorney will be appointed.
Low was reported missing in October 2010. She remained a missing person until September 2013, when police announced they had enough evidence to believe she had been killed. One year later, Torgerson, after learning prosecutors were planning to file a “body-less” homicide charge against him, led police to her body in a wooded area near Wabeno. Days later, in September 2014, Torgerson was charged with her murder.
Wilmouth, Torgerson’s fourth court-appointed attorney, has represented Torgerson since July 2016. The Hazelhurst attorney has defended clients in a number of high profile cases, including Ashlee Martinson of rural Rhinelander. Martinson, now 19, is serving 23 years in prison after fatally shooting her stepfather and fatally stabbing her mother more than 30 times.
