Karen Madden

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - An 18-year-old Nekoosa man charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the August shooting death of a Saratoga woman testified Tuesday that he never meant to hurt anyone other than himself.

Miguel-Angel Oertel, 18, said he never meant to kill Theresa C. Coates, 47. Oertel, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, said he thought Coates could stop him from killing himself. Oertel had been dating Coates' then 17-year-old daughter and the two teens had taken Coates' car and driven it to California in January 2015 before police caught them and brought them back to Wisconsin.

"Before taking the car, Theresa (Coates) and I got along really well," Oertel said Tuesday. "I stayed with them. I helped them out around the house."

Oertel said he had been having problems at home, and Coates was the one person he could sit down with and talk to about it. She could talk to him and help him with his problems, he said.

On Aug. 17, the day of the shooting, Oertel and Coates' daughter had been in court together for the conclusion of their car theft case. Oertel said he and his mother then got something to eat and drove around Wisconsin Rapids for a couple of hours before heading home.

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Oertel said he was home alone when he went to his aunt's house next door to use her wireless internet to check messages on his cellphone. It was then he saw a message from Coates' daughter saying she wanted to break up with him, he said.

Coates said he grabbed a shotgun from his home, took the car keys and decided to kill himself. But first, he wanted to see Coates' daughter one last time. He said he didn't know Theresa Coates was home at the time.

Coates' daughter, who is now 18, testified Tuesday that she had broken up with Oertel but had called 911 and asked police to check on him because she thought he was suicidal. She testified that she didn't think he would try to kill anyone else.

When Coates arrived at the Saratoga home, he got out of the car with the loaded shotgun.

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Coates' daughter said she tried to grab the shotgun and chased Oertel around the yard of the Saratoga residence. Oertel ran inside the home, she said.

Oertel said when he saw Coates in the door, he thought she could help him. He entered the house intending to talk to Coates, but she grabbed the barrel of the gun, Oertel said. Oertel said he instinctively pulled the gun back, and it went off.

Oertel said he didn't realize he had shot Coates. He said he thought he had fired into a wall or something, but it scared him. He decided to kill himself before it went off again and he hurt someone, he said.

Coates' daughter said her mother's back was to her when the younger girl entered the residence after Oertel. She had seen Oertel's finger on the trigger at one point, she said. The teenager said she heard her mother scream, but didn't see who pulled the trigger. She saw her mother fall and Oertel turn the gun on himself. He shot himself in the mouth.

The daughter said she got a pink towel, pressed it against her mother's wound and again called 911.

Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert played the jury the daughter's 911 call. Several people in the crowded courtroom wiped away tears as the teen could be heard begging for help and trying to tell the dispatcher what happened. The teenager didn't know what to do because she couldn't keep pressure on both her mother's wound and Oertel's wound at the same time.

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Oertel's attorney, Michael Hughes, told jurors at the start of the trial Tuesday that it would be clear that Oertel caused Coates' death. He asked the jury to find Oertel guilty of negligent homicide, not reckless homicide. Homicide by negligent use of a dangerous weapon carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. First-degree reckless homicide carries a maximum sentence of 60 years.

Lambert finished presenting his evidence by mid-afternoon Tuesday. Oertel was the defense's only witness.

On Wednesday, both Lambert and Hughes will make their closing arguments and the case will go to jury. If the jury finds Oertel guilty, the trial will move into a second phase during which the same jurors will have to decide if mental illness made Oertel unable to control his actions when he shot Coates.

You can contact reporter Karen Madden at 715-424-7308, karen.madden@gannettwisconsin.com or follow her on Twitter@KMadden715.

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