A second man from Oconto Falls has been charged with homicide in a 15-year-old murder case. Prosecutors allege Charles J. Mlados, 54, was present at the shooting of a Green Bay man and helped to hide the body.
Mlados is charged with one count of intentional homicide — party to the crime in the death of Chad J. McLean, a 19-year-old who went missing Feb. 22, 1998. His body was found March 22, 1998, in the Pensaukee River near a bridge by Sandalwood Golf Course in Abrams. According to autopsy reports, McLean died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
Also accused of the homicide is Peter J. Hanson, 52, of Oconto Falls, who in April pleaded not guilty. He goes to trial in December.
According to an amended criminal complaint, McLean was last seen at a home in Abrams, where he was drinking beer with friends when Mlados and Hanson arrived. McLean, who wanted a ride to Green Bay, reportedly left with Hanson and Mlados.
According to testimony at Mlados’ preliminary hearing June 5, the three men did not head in the direction of Green Bay or toward an Abrams truck stop, where the two testified they left McLean, but instead went to a shed at Hanson’s property in Abrams. Some derogatory comments were made and a fight broke out.
Kathy Hanson, Peter’s wife, testified her husband later that night came home with blood on his hands, acting scared. A friend testified that Hanson admitted to killing McLean and getting help from Mlados to dispose of the body.
The homicide charge against Mlados, filed July 3 in Oconto County Circuit Court, was added to perjury charges filed March 22. The judge also found probable cause Mlados be tried for party to the first degree intentional homicide of McLean, but the charge was not filed until last week by special prosecutor Vince Biskupic. Biskupic did not return calls to the Times Herald to explain the reason for the delay.
The perjury charges stem from testimony Mlados made to a judge at a John Doe hearing Nov. 2.
At the hearing, Mlados contradicted his reports made to law enforcement following the death of McLean. In his 2012 testimony, Mlados denied shooting guns at Hanson’s Abrams home in 1997 and 1998, but the prosecution cited the testimony of several witnesses who said Hanson and his buddies, including Mlados, would regularly shoot guns there.
According to transcripts from the John Doe hearing, Mlados also denied that he rode in a truck with Hanson and McLean on Feb. 22, 1998. In an interview with law enforcement in 1998, Mlados said he went with Hanson and McLean to an Abrams truck stop, where he said McLean left the vehicle.
Mlados is being held in the Oconto County Jail on $25,000 cash bond. He is scheduled for an arraignment July 23. If convicted on the homicide charge, he faces life imprisonment.
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