By Shereen Siewert
A 45-year-old Stevens Point man convicted by a jury in October of killing his wife and hiding her body was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, with the possibility of early release in 30 eyars.
Jason Sypher was charged Aug. 23, 2018 in Portage County Circuit Court with first degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Krista M. Sypher, who was reported missing from her Plover home on March 13, 2017.
During Sypher’s sentencing hearing Nov. 26, Circuit Judge Thomas Eagon heard emotional testimony from Krista Sypher’s father, who gave a victim impact statement as part of the proceedings. Eagon also ordered a five-year prison term on the charge of hiding a corpse, to be served concurrent to the life sentence imposed on the defendant. Jason Sypher was granted 460 days credit for time served while awaiting trial.
Following a multi-day trial in October, a jury deliberated less than two hours before rendering a guilty verdict.
One day after charges were filed, Jason Sypher was arrested approximately five miles north of the Illinois/Wisconsin border on I-39/I-90 following a traffic stop by Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), and Plover Police Department, according to a DOJ news release.
During a May motion hearing defense attorney Gary Kryshak argued detectives had “no body, and no blood” to indicate Krista Sypher, 44, was dead. Kryshak also objected to evidence uncovered by a K9 handler during a search of the family’s home, questioning the accuracy of the dog’s alerts, but a judge overruled his objections and allowed the evidence at trial.
The case was handled by special prosecutor Annie Jay from the Wisconsin Department of Justice and Portage Co. District Attorney Louis Molepske.
