RIO, Wis. - After waiting nearly four months, a Rio woman has gained custody of her murdered son's body.
Jason Laack was killed in Portage on Dec. 18. TODAY'S TMJ4's sister station WISC-TV spoke to Laack’s mother, Jodi Roberts, in December after she said the Columbia County District’s Attorney’s Office wouldn’t release the body. At the time the district attorney’s office said it didn’t want to release the body before potential suspects’ defense attorneys could review it.
Since then, Mario Brown, 24, and Marcus Johnson, 23, have both been charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
Johnson’s attorney filed a motion in court to keep the body until May. However, Brown’s attorney signed off on releasing the body. Roberts said with Brown’s attorney’s consent the medical examiner signed off on releasing the body. Roberts gained custody of her son's body Monday and had it immediately cremated.
During a hearing Tuesday, it was announced the body was released to the family unbeknownst to the DA or Johnson's lawyer.
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