By Shereen Siewert

The 23-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing his two stepbrothers in what police describe as a premeditated killing has reached a plea deal with prosecutors, online court records show.

Brandon D. Knoll appeared Wednesday in Marathon County Circuit Court for a pretrial hearing, during which a judge heard that a plea deal had been reached in the case. Knoll faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the deaths of 23-year-old Michael L. Stone and 19-year-old William R. Stone.

Michael Stone and William Stone were brothers and were Knoll’s stepbrothers.

Police were called at 8:53 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 to a home at 121625 CTH P in the town of Cleveland, near Stratford. When deputies arrived at the scene they found a 24-year-old man at the door, pleading for help. When officers entered the home, they found William Stone lying in the breezeway with abdominal injuries. He was taken to Marshfield Medical Center for treatment but died hours later of his injuries, police said.

Michael Stone, was found in the basement. The Marathon County Medical Examiner pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police say Brandon Noll fled from the home and led officers in marked vehicles on a pursuit with lights and sirens activated. That pursuit ended with police forcing Noll’s vehicle off the road, and the suspect was taken into custody.

In an interview with detectives, Brandon Noll, who lived at the home, said he began planning to kill the victims the week prior to their deaths. He considered using his father’s firearm but chose a knife from a kitchen drawer instead “because it’s quiet,” court documents state.

Brandon Noll told detectives he hid behind a partition in the basement where Michael Stone was playing video games and stabbed him in the chest, prosecutors said. William Stone was stabbed after hearing the noise of the first attack and coming to his brother’s aid. He fled up the stairs.

The suspect told detectives he “wanted to kill someone for his whole life and today felt like the day he would do it” and wanted to see how it felt to kill someone, prosecutors said. He also told police he planned to kill both victims quickly so he could “fool around” for about six hours.

In addition to homicide charges, Brandon Noll faces additional charges of fleeing an officer and of taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent. First-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence.

Knoll, who remains behind bars on a $5 million cash bond, is due in court April 23 for a plea hearing. Details on the plea agreement were not available Wednesday.