Ingold still waiting for new attorney

Michael Ingold is still waiting on a new attorney after his last attorney stepped down just before a four-week trial was scheduled to begin in his homicide case. Two status conferences on Dec. 5 and Dec. 11 yielded no results, so another conference was scheduled for Dec. 23 in Branch II of the Shawano County Courthouse. Ingold has filed a speedy trial demand. This is the third time an attorney has needed to be found for Ingold. Lennon took on the case for Christopher Froehlich, who withdrew May 9, 2023, after being appointed Oct. 18, 2022. This is the third time a scheduled jury trial has been called off for the case involving a charge of first-degree homicide with a domestic abuse modifier. Ingold was originally scheduled to stand trial Jan. 8, but then the trial was rescheduled for May 14 before having to be rescheduled again for Nov. 18. The criminal complaint against Ingold states that at 4:13 a.m. June 25, 2022, the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call from Ingold, where he stated that he woke up and checked on his girlfriend, only to find her deceased. An autopsy showed that Sheila A. Laudon, who was 59 at the time, was strangled to death. Ingold told the deputies that he got home at 6:30 p.m., talked with the victim, turned on the television and fell asleep on the couch, the complaint said. He stated he woke up around 2:30 a.m. and heard the victim in the kitchen saying that she was getting a beer. He then claimed that he woke up again at 4:01 a.m. and found her deceased in the bedroom. Detectives received the autopsy report of the victim’s death on July 21, 2022, stating that the cause of death was manual strangulation. On July 27, 2022, two detectives interviewed Ingold at the sheriff’s department, told Ingold that the victim died from strangulation and that they believed that he caused it. Ingold responded, saying, “No it’s not, no it’s not, I didn’t touch her,” according to the complaint. Ingold acknowledged he and Laudon were the only two people in the house but continued to deny touching her, according to the complaint. If convicted, Ingold faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide with a domestic abuse modifier. lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com