WI - Newlywed couple: Emerson Weingart, 33, Gina Weingart, 37, killed in Sports Page Barr shooting, Elkhorn, 1 Feb 2024

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I'm very happy to hear that they have a POI in custody; obviously a lot has been going on behind the scenes to work on this case.

(I'd thought about posting my thoughts regarding the people on the county inmate search who were booked over the past week, but in trying to respect LE's effort to protect the case's integrity, I'll leave it at that, especially since nothing definitive can really be gleaned from it anyway.)
 
Unusually, today one of the local Milwaukee news channels has named the as-yet-uncharged person of interest in this sad case. That individual was taken into custody several days ago for parole-related issues and has a lengthy criminal record, though one which does not (yet) include murder. I'm not going to put the name here, just wanted to comment on the professionalism and discipline of this small-town police department to keep calm, carry on and concentrate on the crime.
 
I hadn't seen this witness interview before:

> "Tuesday afternoon, 12 News spoke with a Sports Page Barr regular, who says he was in the bar just minutes before the shooting. Nathaniel Wachal said he left the bar around 12:05 a.m. He said he saw law enforcement race past him, but he did not know they were responding to the bar. He learned about the shooting the next day. Wachal tells 12 News he is ready to assist detectives in whatever way he can."
www.wisn.com

Couple shot and killed in sports bar: What we know

Police say it is too soon to determine if this was a robbery, and officials have not released information about the suspect or a motive.
www.wisn.com www.wisn.com
 
Some more tidbits from a local news source -
[the witness] described Wednesday, January 31, as a typical night for the business.

"It was very slow, not a very big crowd, five or six people at max," he said.

[The witness] told 12 News he knew just about everyone in the bar that night, but one stranger at the gambling machines stood out to him.

"I gave him kind of a side eye when he got in there," [the witness] said.

He said that person was still there when [the witness] decided to leave at 12:05 a.m. Police said they responded to the shooting at 12:11 a.m.
"Suspect is in a winter hat and jacket, maybe 50-60 years old, white male," first responders can be heard saying on dispatch audio in the moments following the shooting.

[The witness] said that the description matches the person he saw inside the bar.
www.wisn.com

Man tells WISN 12 News he left Elkhorn bar minutes before deadly shooting

Nathaniel Wachal said he goes to Sports Page Barr Wednesdays to see Gina and Emerson Weingart.
www.wisn.com www.wisn.com
 
Some more from today's article: 'Suspect' in Wisconsin bar shooting makes 'emphatic' denial in newlywed killings
A man being detained and questioned in a fatal bar shooting of two newlyweds "had no involvement" in their deaths, his lawyer said... Prosecutors had not filed any charges against Routt, his lawyer, Russell Jones said, but they're treating him as a "suspect" in the Weingarts' murders, despite law enforcement's official statement calling him a "person of interest."... Jones visited his client Wednesday morning in Walmorth County jail and told Fox News Digital afterward that police are using a legal loophole to hold Routt Jr. for more than 72 hours... He's currently being held in Walworth County Jail on a corrections hold for violating an unspecified term of his parole, or supervision as it's known in Wisconsin, related to his previous criminal record that includes arson, burglary and forgery convictions.
Law enforcement have not said what the motive might have been, or if Emerson and Gina were the intended targets. A family member posted on Facebook that it was a "senseless bar robbery" that claimed their lives too early.
www.foxnews.com

'Suspect' in Wisconsin bar shooting makes 'emphatic' denial in newlywed killings: lawyer

"Person of interest" questioned by police in the fatal shootings of newlyweds Emerson and Gina Weingart in a Wisconsin bar on Feb. 1. No charges have been filed.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com
 
7 Feb 2024 WISN news: Elkhorn double homicide: Person of interest 'despondent' and 'confused'
"He's despondent. He's in jail, he's in custody and quite frankly, he's confused at this point," attorney Russell Jones said about his client.
...
WISN 12 News obtained court documents related to those [prior] convictions including a bar break-in in New Berlin in 1995. Routt told investigators at the time he "needed money to purchase additional cocaine."
...
"While in prison, I decided I need help and that I needed to change my life totally around. So I took that first hard step to ask for help," Routt said in a 2023 video shared by [the college he was attending].
www.wisn.com

Elkhorn double homicide: Person of interest 'despondent' and 'confused' while in custody

The man in custody is identified by his attorney at Thomas Routt Jr.
www.wisn.com www.wisn.com
 
branmuffin said:
I presume the murder weapon was not found at the scene. The person of interest; was he in the bar? Did someone identify him as being in the bar?
Click to expand...
It has NOT been publicly stated whether the weapon was found or, if so, where.

The witness interviewed here stated that the description on police dispatch ("winter hat and jacket, maybe 50-60 years old, white male") matched the man he'd seen in the bar. The POI who has been arrested is a 57-year-old white male (LINK).
 
The delay here is a little puzzling to me. A ghost didn't appear out of thin air and kill this couple.

I'm not clear on exactly how much time elapsed between the shootings and the arrival of police that night - not more than 6-10 minutes if news reports are accurate - but the bar itself and the front/rear access to it are on the smaller side, plus the entire place is not exactly invisible with motel rooms directly above, on the second floor.

JMO, but it seems there has been a decent amount of time to recover forensic and ballestics evidence, along with camera footage from the area. The "person of interest" currently being held doesn't strike me as the brightest bulb in the chandelier, so I'm doubting that law enforcement was confronted with a perfectly wiped down, pristine crime scene.

Maybe they're just proceeding with an abundance of caution, laying the groundwork for an open-and-shut case. I hope it's that rather than that they have no suspect at all.
 
Is it remotely possible that one of the two deceased actually shot the other then committed suicide and the suspect in question stole the weapon and took off. I wondered why Emerson called his dad but didn't say anything. It's possible he was already mortally wounded and was looking for help but why not call 911? I'm not suggesting definitively that this is a murder-suicide but stranger things have happened. IMO
 
branmuffin said:
Is it remotely possible... <snipped>
Click to expand...
What is "remotely possible" is not nearly as important as what is probable.

In this case, there has been absolutely zero evidence that would suggest a murder-suicide. The victims have clean records -- no history of violence or other criminal activity. They're newlyweds with no indication of marital issues. None of the witnesses stated they'd heard any fighting or raised voices in those last minutes. Also, the fact that some of the bullets lodged itself in the wall of the salon next door (LINK) could indicate that the weapon was shot from a distance, rather than at close range. LE obviously would be able to tell more from the forensic evidence, and the fact that they were immediately looking for someone else tells me that they were able to rule out a murder-suicide pretty quickly.

As far as the phone call goes, I know that my phone pulls up my "favorites" first on the call screen, with the option to dial in another number on the bottom, so I could easily call one of those contacts with a lot fewer taps than it would take me to dial 911.
 
wnk said:
What is "remotely possible" is not nearly as important as what is probable.

In this case, there has been absolutely zero evidence that would suggest a murder-suicide. The victims have clean records -- no history of violence or other criminal activity. They're newlyweds with no indication of marital issues. None of the witnesses stated they'd heard any fighting or raised voices in those last minutes. Also, the fact that some of the bullets lodged itself in the wall of the salon next door (LINK) could indicate that the weapon was shot from a distance, rather than at close range. LE obviously would be able to tell more from the forensic evidence, and the fact that they were immediately looking for someone else tells me that they were able to rule out a murder-suicide pretty quickly.

As far as the phone call goes, I know that my phone pulls up my "favorites" first on the call screen, with the option to dial in another number on the bottom, so I could easily call one of those contacts with a lot fewer taps than it would take me to dial 911.
Click to expand...
I'd hazard a guess that 90% of all murders relating to familial ties like husband and wife, father and son, etc. have no history of violence or other criminal activity. I have not heard that bullets were lodged into the wall of the salon next door. I don't know if that means the bullets came from behind the bar or someone sitting at the bar.
 
16 Feb 2024 - Man charged in double fatal Elkhorn bar shooting was barred from possessing guns
Thomas A. Routt, 57, faces five felony charges, including two counts of first-degree intentional homicide... His first appearance in court was Friday afternoon, where cash bond was set at $2 million.

...Routt was inside the tavern for about 30 minutes playing a video gaming machine before pulling out a gun and ordering the married couple and third person not to move.

Routt told investigators that Gina Weingart told him to put the gun away or she'd call police. He said Gina Weingart then slapped the gun and it went off, striking her. Routt then said he took the money out the register and shot Emerson Weingart. He also admitted to following a fleeing female out the back door and firing shots at her.
www.jsonline.com

Man charged in double fatal Elkhorn bar shooting was barred from possessing guns

The man accused of killing Emerson and Gina Weingart in an Elkhorn bar was barred from possessing guns and was motivated by robbery.
www.jsonline.com
 
16 Feb 2024 - Family of victims speaks as man charged in fatal Elkhorn shooting appears in court
Routt, 57, is charged with the following:
  • First-degree intentional homicide (two counts)
  • Attempted first-degree intentional homicide
  • Armed robbery
  • Possession of a firearm by a felon
... Authorities say Routt indicated that his motive was robbery and said he returned to the bar after chasing the witness to take $120-$140 from the open cash drawer. He told officers that the next morning, he tossed the weapon and ammunition in a trash can in Lake Como.*

.. Jones said neither he nor Routt have seen any evidence yet. That will come after the preliminary hearing. "It wouldn't surprise me if there were surveillance cameras, but at this point we have not been provided any video footage of anything."
*NOTE: Lake Como is the name of a nearby township; this does not imply that the items were tossed into an actual body of water
www.cbs58.com

Family of victims speaks as man charged in fatal Elkhorn shooting appears in court

WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Thomas Routt appeared in Walworth County court Friday, Feb. 16. He's charged with five felonies connected to the Feb. 1st shooting deaths of Gina and Emerson Weingart.Routt will re
www.cbs58.com www.cbs58.com
 
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