Rotting Eye
05-05-2004, 12:01 PM
Eagle Scout accused of killing man to baffle authorities
Prosecutors say Gary Hirte, left, told friends he killed Glen Kopitske just to see if he could get away with it.
Associated Press
Feb. 26, 2004 09:45 AM
\
OSHKOSH, Wis. - Gary Hirte, a high school scholar, star
athlete and Eagle Scout whose name seemed to be in the local
paper all the time, is accused of committing murder - not for
money, or revenge, but just to see if he could get away with
it.
The Weyauwega-Fremont High senior was charged last month in an arrest that was met with shock and disbelief in this small
town of 1,800, where Hirte has long been the golden boy. He
was accused of killing 37-year-old Glenn Kopitske.
A judge entered a not guilty plea Thursday on behalf of an
Hirte. At his arraignment, Hirte appeared wearing a
black-and-white striped jail uniform and at one point waved to
his grandmother and smiled.
Hirte, 18, told friends about the crime, but none of them took
him seriously, authorities said. Finally, five months after the slaying, a girl he once dated went to police because she
feared he would commit suicide out of remorse.
"He wanted to see if he could do this. It was like a challenge
for him," sheriff's Capt. Steve Verwiel said. "I would attribute it to arrogance."
Hirte apparently sought out and stalked Kopitske, a substitute
teacher who ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2000,
authorities said. Verwiel would not say if the two knew each
other.
Kopitske was found dead Aug. 2 in his rural house outside
Weyauwega. He had been shot in the head, stabbed twice in the
back and once in the heart.
The arrest has shaken this community about 90 miles north of
Madison, tucked between farm fields and home to a cheese
production company, a plastic bag producer and a sawmill.
Hirte was the city's first Eagle Scout in 20 years. He was an
honor student and a 6-foot-4, 270-pound member of the track,
wrestling and football teams, and has a steady 14-year-old
girlfriend. Readers of the town's weekly paper knew all about
his achievements.
"This kid had everything going for him," Mayor Howard Quimby
said. "He can do anything he sets his mind to."
Quimby, who knows Hirte's family and worked with him on his
Boy Scout merit badges, said he did not believe Hirte killed
to see if he could outsmart investigators, and "I don't think
anybody in town can believe the situation."
Hirte's attorneys asked to have the case dismissed Tuesday.
Defense attorney Gerald Boyle said Hirte claims he was not
involved in the murder.
Paul Mayou, who owns the Dairy Queen in Waupaca where Hirte
worked weekends for 21/2 years, said that when he first heard
about Hirte's arrest, he thought it had to be a hunting accident or maybe an auto wreck. Mayou said he is keeping
Hirte's job open for him.
"We're standing by him based on what we know about him," he
said.
Mayou said Hirte was polite and quiet, got along with
everyone, and despite being one of the football team's best
players, never bragged. "He had a level head and didn't think
too much of himself," Mayou said.
Hirte had been jailed on $200,000 bail, but Judge Bruce
Schmidt on Thursday granted a prosecution request to increase
bail to $400,000. Prosecutors expressed fear that he could
harm witnesses and said he and his current girlfriend
discussed committing suicide together.
For five months, investigators had been stumped by the
slaying. Police didn't look at Hirte as a suspect until a
friend, Olivia Thoma, came forward Jan. 1, worried Hirte might
harm himself, Verwiel said.
According to a police report, Hirte told Thoma about the crime
at a county fair a few weeks after the slaying when they
agreed to disclose their biggest secrets. She did not take him
seriously.
Police recorded a Jan. 28 call between Thoma and Hirte when he
described crime details that were not public, Verwiel said.
Hirte "stated that one of the reasons that he killed the male
individual was to see if he could get away with it,"
investigators said in court papers.
Hirte also allegedly told his friend Eric Wenzelow. The two
young men had visited Kopitske's house in July, before the
slaying, and Wenzelow thought they were looking for deer,
authorities said.
Hirte later told Wenzelow he drove his father's car to the
house, found Kopitske naked and killed him, authorities said.
Police took Hirte into custody at school Jan. 29 and searched
his house. His parents "were in disbelief and we had to
explain to them exactly why we were there," Verwiel said.
Police found the dead man's keys in Hirte's room and two
shotguns in the basement.
Kopitske lived alone and wanted to get into acting and comedy,
said his mother. "He was kind of a loner and a little bit
different, eccentric, and that made him a target," Shirley
Kopitske said.
Prosecutors say Gary Hirte, left, told friends he killed Glen Kopitske just to see if he could get away with it.
Associated Press
Feb. 26, 2004 09:45 AM
\
OSHKOSH, Wis. - Gary Hirte, a high school scholar, star
athlete and Eagle Scout whose name seemed to be in the local
paper all the time, is accused of committing murder - not for
money, or revenge, but just to see if he could get away with
it.
The Weyauwega-Fremont High senior was charged last month in an arrest that was met with shock and disbelief in this small
town of 1,800, where Hirte has long been the golden boy. He
was accused of killing 37-year-old Glenn Kopitske.
A judge entered a not guilty plea Thursday on behalf of an
Hirte. At his arraignment, Hirte appeared wearing a
black-and-white striped jail uniform and at one point waved to
his grandmother and smiled.
Hirte, 18, told friends about the crime, but none of them took
him seriously, authorities said. Finally, five months after the slaying, a girl he once dated went to police because she
feared he would commit suicide out of remorse.
"He wanted to see if he could do this. It was like a challenge
for him," sheriff's Capt. Steve Verwiel said. "I would attribute it to arrogance."
Hirte apparently sought out and stalked Kopitske, a substitute
teacher who ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2000,
authorities said. Verwiel would not say if the two knew each
other.
Kopitske was found dead Aug. 2 in his rural house outside
Weyauwega. He had been shot in the head, stabbed twice in the
back and once in the heart.
The arrest has shaken this community about 90 miles north of
Madison, tucked between farm fields and home to a cheese
production company, a plastic bag producer and a sawmill.
Hirte was the city's first Eagle Scout in 20 years. He was an
honor student and a 6-foot-4, 270-pound member of the track,
wrestling and football teams, and has a steady 14-year-old
girlfriend. Readers of the town's weekly paper knew all about
his achievements.
"This kid had everything going for him," Mayor Howard Quimby
said. "He can do anything he sets his mind to."
Quimby, who knows Hirte's family and worked with him on his
Boy Scout merit badges, said he did not believe Hirte killed
to see if he could outsmart investigators, and "I don't think
anybody in town can believe the situation."
Hirte's attorneys asked to have the case dismissed Tuesday.
Defense attorney Gerald Boyle said Hirte claims he was not
involved in the murder.
Paul Mayou, who owns the Dairy Queen in Waupaca where Hirte
worked weekends for 21/2 years, said that when he first heard
about Hirte's arrest, he thought it had to be a hunting accident or maybe an auto wreck. Mayou said he is keeping
Hirte's job open for him.
"We're standing by him based on what we know about him," he
said.
Mayou said Hirte was polite and quiet, got along with
everyone, and despite being one of the football team's best
players, never bragged. "He had a level head and didn't think
too much of himself," Mayou said.
Hirte had been jailed on $200,000 bail, but Judge Bruce
Schmidt on Thursday granted a prosecution request to increase
bail to $400,000. Prosecutors expressed fear that he could
harm witnesses and said he and his current girlfriend
discussed committing suicide together.
For five months, investigators had been stumped by the
slaying. Police didn't look at Hirte as a suspect until a
friend, Olivia Thoma, came forward Jan. 1, worried Hirte might
harm himself, Verwiel said.
According to a police report, Hirte told Thoma about the crime
at a county fair a few weeks after the slaying when they
agreed to disclose their biggest secrets. She did not take him
seriously.
Police recorded a Jan. 28 call between Thoma and Hirte when he
described crime details that were not public, Verwiel said.
Hirte "stated that one of the reasons that he killed the male
individual was to see if he could get away with it,"
investigators said in court papers.
Hirte also allegedly told his friend Eric Wenzelow. The two
young men had visited Kopitske's house in July, before the
slaying, and Wenzelow thought they were looking for deer,
authorities said.
Hirte later told Wenzelow he drove his father's car to the
house, found Kopitske naked and killed him, authorities said.
Police took Hirte into custody at school Jan. 29 and searched
his house. His parents "were in disbelief and we had to
explain to them exactly why we were there," Verwiel said.
Police found the dead man's keys in Hirte's room and two
shotguns in the basement.
Kopitske lived alone and wanted to get into acting and comedy,
said his mother. "He was kind of a loner and a little bit
different, eccentric, and that made him a target," Shirley
Kopitske said.