Body found in woods; Waukesha man found guilty of homicide, hiding corpse
Man found guilty of homicide, hiding corpse
A Waukesha County jury found Matthew Pahl guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 4 of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the death of his girlfriend three years ago.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Waukesha County jury found Matthew Pahl guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 4 of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the death of his girlfriend three years ago.
Prosecutors admit this is a circumstantial case. There is no DNA evidence, no official cause of death and no eyewitnesses.
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Pahl on trial
What we know:
Prosecutors say Pahl, 57, killed his long-time girlfriend, Stephanie Pavlons, and hid her body in the woods along Golf Road in the Town of Delafield.
Pavlons' decomposing body was discovered in September 2022 by a construction worker near Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin 17 days after she was last seen alive. Pahl never reported her missing.
The defense argued Pavlons was suicidal. They say Pavlons' mother and her daughter did not report her missing either.
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Pahl entered not guilty pleas to charges of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse.
Prosecutors made a case Pavlons decided to leave Pahl while he was at a doctor's appointment. They said Pahl strangled her with her purse strap and dragged her body into the woods.
Cellphone records
Dig deeper:
Prosecutors say cellphone records were key. They say Pahl deleted nearly a thousand messages. Pahl and Pavlons' cellphones were pinged to the area near Orthopaedic Associates the day Pavlons was last seen alive.
Both cellphones later ping at their apartment, but surveillance video shows Pahl returning alone with Pavlons' belongings.
What they're saying:
"He thinks he’s covering his trail – but he didn’t know that we would know we could look through her phone, find things he deleted – we’re smarter than him. He thinks he’s the smartest man in the room," said Kristi Gordon, prosecutor.
"He monitored police scanners, obituaries – I don’t find this suspicious. If I was worried about someone, I’d do the same thing," said Peter Wolff, defense attorney.
Prosecutors say Pavlons was the victim of domestic abuse. Investigators waited a full year before charging Pahl with any crime.
Body found in woods, Waukesha man on trial for girlfriend's death
A Waukesha man is on trial for his girlfriend's death. Her body was found in the woods, in the town of Delafield, in September 2022.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access as well as FOX6 News reporting.