The killing of a Wisconsin teenager and her mother has been devastating for Chetek-Weyerhaeuser school district, which has lost its second high school senior in about six months.
John Hengst shot and killed his ex-wife, Brenda L. Turner, and her daughter, 17-year-old Natalie Turner, before killing himself Friday evening at their home in Chetek, authorities say.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said autopsies on all three people were conducted and the results show they each died of a single gunshot wound.
Natalie Turner placed a distress call from the home at 9:02 p.m. Friday. She was found dead in her upstairs bedroom.
“Brenda also suffered blunt force injuries to her face, neck and torso and had a left-side rib fracture,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “While we are still pulling this case together, it appears some sort of altercation occurred in the upstairs bedroom and then continued downstairs, where Brenda was found deceased from a gunshot wound.”
Chetek-Weyerhaeuser schools Superintendent Mark Johnson said the district was working to help students cope with the death.
“We have around 25 volunteers here (Monday) morning to provide support to our students and staff as they grieve for the loss of Natalie,” Johnson said. “It is a wide range of volunteers such as school counselors from neighboring school districts, clergy members, staff members from Barron County Health and Human Services, Chetek Police Department, and Sheriff Fitzgerald from the Barron County sheriff’s department. Once again, we are amazed at the outpouring of support from inside and outside our community.”
In May, 17-year-old pilot, Owen Knutson died when the two-seat, single-engine plane he was piloting crashed into the Red Cedar River. His passenger, 18-year-old Hunter Gillett, suffered serious injuries but was expected to recover.
Online court records show that Brenda L. Hengst, 55, filed for divorce from John E. Hengst, 55, in March 2016 in Barron County Court. Fitzgerald said that though they were divorced, they still lived together. No one else lived at the home at the time of the killing, he added.
Court records said they had no children together, and she was restoring her last name of Turner. The divorce was finalized in September 2016.
In December 2015, John Hengst was arrested for reckless driving causing bodily harm. A jury convicted him in January and he was ordered to serve 30 days in jail, placed on probation for one year. He also was ordered to pay $20,956 in restitution.
Online records show that on Oct. 9, court officials set a return date to court for Dec. 12.
In 2012 and again in 2014, John Hengst was convicted of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. In 1999, he was convicted of disorderly conduct and obstructing, in Dunn County Court.
