2012 Corey Stingley death: Murder charges now filed against 2 men
Corey Stingley
MILWAUKEE - Two men are now charged with felony murder in the 2012 death of 16-year-old Corey Stingley. Stingley died after being restrained following a shoplifting incident at a West Allis convenience store in December 2012.
The men now charged in the case are 67-year-old Robert Beringer of Menomonee Falls and 39-year-old Jesse Cole of Waukesha.
2012 death investigation
The backstory:
In December 2012, police showed up to a West Allis convenience store. Corey Stingley was inside pulseless, unconscious and being held down by three men, the two defendants and Mario Laumann, who died in 2022.
Surveillance video shows Stingley putting liquor bottles into his backpack.
Surveillance video of Corey Stingley
At the counter, the clerk confronted Stingley, who then tried to run off. That's when three men inside the store took Stingley down, restraining him until police arrived. During this time, Stingley stopped breathing.
The criminal complaint against Beringer and Cole said West Allis EMS believed it was approximately eight minutes before Stingley regained a pulse. However, he was not breathing on his own. Stingley was then taken to Froedtert Hospital for medical treatment.
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Two weeks later, Stingley died from his injuries.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Stingley died from anoxic brain injury – a lack of oxygen to the brain due to asphyxia and physical restraint. They noted Stingley's airway was obstructed with "reasonable force."
Contact with Stingley's father
What they're saying:
A detective spoke with Stingley's father, Craig. The father said Corey was active in sports, had no medical history, and did not take any prescribed medications.
Key times
Dig deeper:
According to a West Allis Police Department dispatch log, Stingley was "possibly physically restrained for approximately six to ten minutes by Berringer, Cole and Laumann," the complaint says.
The 911 call came in at 4:13 p.m. and police first arrived on-scene at 4:19 p.m. The court filing says in reviewing the store surveillance tape, the time stamp indicates the altercation started at 4:05 p.m.
No charges filed initially
Dig deeper:
In January 2014, then-Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm announced he would not file criminal charges.
"Was there any intentional crime here? In other words, were they acting with intent to harm him in any significant way? There is no evidence of that whatsoever," Chisholm said after his decision.
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At that time, Craig Stingley, Corey's father, disputed the district attorney's reasoning for not filing charges.
"Any adult or most children know if you choke someone, you can harm them. You learn that in grade school. Their actions caused the life of a 16-year-old child to come to an end," Craig Stingley said following a restraining order hearing in October 2015.
Corey Stingley death: 'John Doe' petition, father seeks charges
The father of Corey Stingley, the teen who died after being restrained at a West Allis gas station, continues to seek charges under the state's "John Doe" statute.
What led to charges
What we know:
In 2020, Stingley's father petitioned the court under a seldom-used part of the state's ‘John Doe’ statute, seeking a complaint to be filed, and asking the court for a new special prosecutor.
In 2022, a judge appointed Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne as special prosecutor. Ozanne is not commenting on the charges or the case.
An attorney for Cole has not returned messages from FOX6 News.
It is unclear if Beringer has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
What's next:
Beringer and Cole are set to appear in Milwaukee County court on Thursday, Jan. 15 for their initial appearances in this case.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access as well as previous FOX6 News coverage.