Four Day Jury Trial Scheduled In Murder Of Beaver Dam Man

(Juneau) A four-day jury trial was added to the court calendar Monday for a Portage man accused of killing a Beaver Dam man. Nigel Schultz is charged with First Degree Intentional Homicide in the death of Bradlee Gerke. The 21-year-old is implicated along with Rebecca Wolc of Beaver Dam who is facing one felony count of Harboring or Aiding A Felon.

The property owner called authorities last Halloween reporting that there could be a body in his cow pasture. He told investigators that his daughter identified the suspect as Schultz, who is her ex-boyfriend.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators found burned grass with spots of blood and part of a skull; Gerke’s body was found in a shallow grave in a nearby tree line covered in gasoline.

Schultz was taken into custody on a parole violation at the Lakecrest Apartments in Beaver Dam. During that arrest, Wolc made contact with police at the front door and allegedly told them that Schultz was not there. A second female eventually left the residence and she informed authorities of Schultz’s presence.

When interviewed by investigators, Schultz initially maintained that the property owner was the one who shot the victim and he only stole the victim’s phone and Food Share Card. But later, Schultz allegedly confessed to shooting Gerke in the back of the head with a 38-Derringer and a .22-rifle. Gerke was shot ten times in the back of his head and six times in the chest. Schultz allegedly stated that Gerke was going to report him to law enforcement for an apparent parole violation.

The murder was reported on Halloween but reportedly took place three days earlier. When Wolc was questioned by authorities, she reported seeing the body shortly after the shooting and said she did not call 911 because she was (quote) “kind of scared, really kind of scared.”

Wolc entered a not guilty plea at arraignment in January and has court activity on the calendar in July. Schultz four-day jury trial is slated to begin on September 9.