A status conference for March 31 for James Radford was put on hold after Radford’s attorneys made a request two weeks earlier for a change of judge.
Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judge William Kussel Jr. had been overseeing the case for more than a year but agreed to step aside. The first-degree homicide case will now go before Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Lamont Jacobson.
Jacobson has been a judge for Marathon County since 2013. He has also been an assistant district attorney for Marathon and Dunn counties, as well as a district attorney and family court commissioner for Vernon County.
Jacobson has called for a scheduling conference by phone April 9 to figure out where the case will go. The status conference for March 31 had originally been set so newly appointed defense attorneys John Swimmer and James Schoenecker could have time to get up to speed on the case.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies responded April 11, 2016, to a residence on County Road J in the Town of Fairbanks for a report of a woman who had sustained a gunshot wound. The caller, identified as her husband, reported that his wife, Sabrina Radford, had shot herself.
At the time of the initial response, investigators were unable to conclusively determine the cause of death. However, due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident, a formal investigation was initiated.
Over the course of nine years, investigators dedicated significant time and effort to this case, according to a sheriff’s department press release. Numerous interviews were conducted with James Radford and other individuals connected to the case, and previously collected evidence was reexamined. With the aid of advanced investigative tools, evolving forensic technology and the involvement of expert witnesses, investigators determined the death of Sabrina Radford was not the result of suicide.
James Radford was taken into custody in 2025 in Waukesha County. He was subsequently transported to Shawano County, where he was booked into the jail and has since been held on a cash bond of $800,000.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
