Details surface in Butschke case

Two men were charged with the murder of Beau Butschke in Jefferson County Circuit Court this afternoon after the man was found on July 26 with three gunshot wounds to his head and extremities. He was found dead in the back of his pickup truck.

James Richards, 19, of Oconomowoc, and James Richardson, 51 of Watertown, were both charged with homicide, theft, and hiding a corpse with the intent to conceal a crime after making their initial court appearance via videoconferencing.

According to the criminal complaint, Butschke went missing on July 14. Family members expected him to be at a family gathering at Lake Geneva on July 15. His mother received no answer to repeated telephone calls, prompting sheriff's deputies to check on his residence in Ixonia.

The complaint said that deputies stopped at his home each day between July 15 and July 18, but neither Butschke or his red Toyota pickup were there.

Richardson and Butschke lived in the same Ixonia duplex, where landlord Vilas Scott said the two men had disagreements over Richardson not mowing his lawn and maintaining his side of the property, according to the criminal complaint.