Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Witnesses testify about Kuykendall’s death
A Gays Mills man was bound over for trial Monday on a first-degree reckless homicide charge stemming from a bar fight in Readstown in early February that left a Beloit man dead.
David Heisz, 26, then stood mute in Vernon County Circuit Court as a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf by Judge Michael Rosbor-ough. If found guilty of the charge, Heisz faces a term in prison of up to 60 years.
Heisz is accused of assaulting Kelly Kuykendall, 50, on Feb. 7 outside Pat's Corner Bar.
Kuykendall, who owned a cabin in the Readstown area, later was pronounced dead at Vernon Memorial Healthcare.
Three people testified Monday they saw part of the incident between Kuykendall and Heisz and his cousin, 28-year-old Mikeal E. Heisz, also of Gays Mills. But none claimed to have seen the entire chain of events.
Brad Alexander of Readstown testified he saw David Heisz give Kuykendall a "forceful" push off the bar's front step, which would have sent him down about five stairs onto a concrete sidewalk. Alexander said he couldn't see if Heisz fell over with Kuykendall or walked down to the sidewalk where Kuykendall had fallen.
Jeff Vandenbergh of Bloom City said he saw David Heisz outside the bar standing over Kuykendall and making punching motions, but added he couldn't tell if the blows actually landed.
Jesse Nash of Soldiers Grove testified he saw David Heisz throw as many as six punches while Kuykendall lay on the sidewalk. Nash said the entire incident lasted just "seconds."
Alexander and Vanden-bergh said a verbal argument between the Heisz cousins and Kuykendall started near the bar. Alexander said Mikeal Heisz pushed Kuykendall and Kuykendall fell backwards over a bar stool.
Alexander and Vanden-bergh testified that David Heisz helped Mikeal Heisz off Kuykendall and then also "helped" (Kuykendall) back up to his feet.
Alexander said it then appeared that Heisz "escorted" Kuykendall to the door.
"He didn't drag him," Alexander said. "It looked like they were talking."
In fact, Alexander, Vanden-bergh and Nash all said they didn't expect the incident to escalate.
"It didn't seem like anything was going to happen," Vandenbergh said.
All three witnesses said that once they were outside they saw Heisz standing over Kuykendall, but their view was sometimes obscured by other people. This was particularly the case in the testimony of Alexander and Vandenbergh. Nash said he was able to reach around Heisz from behind and pull him up off Kuykendall. When Nash said he took the action, Heisz stood up and walked away from Kuykendall.
Pathologist Dr. Robert Huntington III of the state crime lab testified via a telephone conference call that an autopsy he performed on Kuykendall found a magnitude of injuries that would be associated with an automobile accident. Huntington said the injuries Kuykendall suffered, including facial bruises and cuts, a skull fracture, a subdural hematoma to the brain, seven broken ribs — four of which were broken in two places — and a liver injury, were all the cause of blunt force trauma, which Huntington said was the cause of death.
Huntington went into detail about each individual area of injury sustained by Kuykendall. He said that the head injuries themselves could have been fatal. He said the injuries to the ribs could have been fatal and that even with the liver injury, which he said was caused by a lateral impact that tore the organ's lining, "there's no guarantee it wasn't life threatening."
Huntington said the rib fractures were particularly curious, because Kuykendall's ribs on his right side, 1-through-7 were all broken on the front part of the rib cage, but four of those ribs, 2-through-5, were also broken in the back.
David Heisz's attorney, Peder Arneson, asked Huntington if the injuries would be consistent with someone of Heisz's size, about 250 pounds, falling on top of the 140-pound Kuykendall.
"Yes, if the fall were out of a second-story window," said Huntington.
Huntington testified that Kuykendall's injuries were so great they were not caused by an "ordinary, normal, garden-variety fall." Huntington added that the fall also didn't account for both black eyes Kuykendall sustained or the cut he received above his right eye.
Vernon County Sheriff's Department Investigator Scott Bjerkos testified that when David Heisz voluntarily came in for questioning on the morning of Feb. 7, he didn't have any noticeable injuries on his hands, but that Heisz said he had washed blood off his right hand. Also, Heisz, who hadn't changed clothes since the altercation took place, had blood "spatter" and drops on the left leg of his pants, Bjerkos said.
Bjerkos said that Heisz told him in an interview that he had consumed up to 30 shots of liquor, plus beer and mixed drinks on the evening of Feb. 6 and the early morning of Feb. 7. Heisz had been out celebrating his 26th birthday on Feb. 6. Bjerkos said Heisz told him he became "enraged" about a comment Kuykendall said to Mikeal Heisz about his father, Mikeal Heisz, Sr.
However, Heisz told Bjerkos he "blacked out" whatever happened between going to the bar's front door with Kuykendall and eventually standing over Kuykendall on the sidewalk with his right arm cocked in a punching position.
Bjerkos also said that during an interview with David Heisz, David Heisz said he was responsible for Kuykendall's death.
Rosborough set a June 30 status conference for David Heisz.
Mikeal Heisz also had a preliminary hearing Monday on a misdemeanor battery charge from the same incident. He pleaded not guilty.
Both Heisz cousins have been released on bail. Judge Rosborough extended David Heisz's bond restrictions to allow him to travel in Wisconsin for work-related matters. Arneson said that Heisz is a crew leader for a construction company that builds grain bins and is often asked to go on two-day trips throughout the state. When Arneson brought up the matter, there was audible dissatisfaction coming from a large audience gathered among Kuykendall's family and friends. About 30 people attended the hearing wearing orange ribbons, which were also wore at a previous bond hearing by family and friends of Kuykendall.
When Arneson asked that Heisz also be allowed a curfew extension to 11 p.m. to work on his father's farm, more audible objections could be heard from the group in the audience and Vernon County District Attorney Tim Gaskell objected.
"Mr. Kuykendall isn't here to help his family," Gaskell said.
Rosborough, however, dismissed the objection, asking Gaskell not to get "dramatic."
Rosborough allowed the curfew extensions as long as they were work related.
There was a significant law enforcement presence with a number of Vernon County Sheriff's Department deputies and officers from the Viroqua Police Department at the courthouse.
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.