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Jason Tourtillott (Nekoosa Police Department).
A Wisconsin man is behind bars for killing his father during a dispute about cleanliness, police in the Badger State say.
Jason W. Tourtillott, 26, stands accused of one count of intentional homicide in the first degree over the death of Thomas S. Tourtillott, 58, the Nekoosa Police Department announced in a press release.
Court records offered additional insight into the alleged parricide.
On July 22, 2021, an officer responded to a 911 call about a man who was not breathing and lacked a pulse at a house on Crestview Lane in Nekoosa, a small town located some 120 miles west of Green Bay.
Jason Tourtillott met the detective at the door and led him to his father, who was lying on the floor in a “middle room” of the house, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
On the way to the unconscious man, the pair walked through the kitchen. There, the defendant is said to have pointed at a splotch of red on the wall. The substance, Jason Tourtillott said, was chili.
The son offered an apology to the detective.
“That’s chili, I’m sorry,” he allegedly said.
Police and emergency medical technicians performed CPR on the victim — for naught. At the same time, the officer and EMTs noticed trauma to the elder Tourtillott’s “head, face and neck area,” according to the complaint. The man’s injuries included still-bleeding lacerations above each eye and “what appeared to be the onset of bruising.”
“[Thomas Tourtillott] also had a small circular hole behind his right ear that appeared to be bleeding,” the court document reads. “There was a large amount of blood under [Thomas Tourtillott]’s body and in the surrounding area of the living room.”
Eventually, after the victim was moved to the kitchen, the deputy coroner arrived on the scene and the victim was pronounced dead. Throughout the 25 or so minutes in which CPR was performed, Thomas Tourtillott never had a heartbeat, according to the complaint.
During two interviews with law enforcement, the defendant “provided several inconsistent statements,” police say.
Jason Tourtillot allegedly gave various different answers about his father’s lack of a shirt, at times saying he did not know the shirt was removed, and at other times saying he did not think he removed his father’s shirt. He also allegedly said “he was probably the one that ripped the shirt off but did not remember where he put the shirt.”
The defendant also told police he was asleep from around 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the day in question — but hedged a bit when pressed to account for activity on his cellphone at around 5 p.m. that day.
During the initial interview, the defendant allegedly raised the notion of his father’s drinking, which he said was excessive. This was mentioned in the context of the son explaining that he was not concerned at first when he saw his father on the floor because the older man “lays wherever he has been drinking.”
“During this interview, the defendant was questioned about blood on his person and injuries he sustained,” the complaint goes on. “The defendant stated that he washed the blood that he had on his neck and chest off in the Nekoosa Police Department bathroom. When questioned about scratches on his legs and arm, the defendant stated that the scratches were from the cat.”
Asked by investigators if he drank, the defendant allegedly said “no.”
The defendant further disparaged his father’s drinking habits during his second interview, police say. That’s when the chili came up again.
From the complaint at length:
[O]n that date, [Thomas Tourtillott] made chili for lunch. He stated that when [Thomas Tourtillott] was walking to the couch he kind of fell and spilled the chili. The defendant stated that the chili was on the wall, and this occurred prior to the defendant going to sleep. The defendant stated that [Thomas Tourtillott] did not injure himself during this incident. The defendant also spoke about his relationship with [Thomas Tourtillott] and denied, multiple times, any type of argument or physical altercation with [Thomas Tourtillott] When asked if there was a physical altercation the defendant stated, “No sir, I loved my dad and my dad loved me.” The defendant went on to state that his relationship with [Thomas Tourtillott] was a true son and father bond that they had.
Later, police spoke with the defendant’s sister who said her brother did, in fact drink, and that he often became easily angered when doing so.
On the day of their father’s death, the sister recalled that her brother had been babysitting her son and that she was at the residence twice that day. During the second visit, which was around 6:30 p.m., the defendant seemed “upset,” she said.
Both father and son were shirtless, the sister told investigators. Her father, however, was not usually passed out on the ground, she said.
“She described the defendant as ‘crabby,”” the complaint reads. “When asked if the defendant stated anything about [their father] being on the ground she stated, ‘um he said something about like this stupid f—er ah spilled his chili or couldn’t walk, something to that effect.’ [The sister] clarified that the defendant referred to [their father] as a ‘stupid f—er.’”
After that, police spoke to the sister’s son. The defendant’s nephew recalled hearing the two men “yelling” at each other and that he woke up to the sound of them fighting.
The boy said he could not see his uncle and grandfather because he was upstairs but heard the defendant say something like “why did you have an accident on my couch,” according to the complaint.
In turn, the victim replied “I don’t know” and said that it was “an accident.” To which the defendant allegedly said it was not accident, according to the complaint. Then, the boy allegedly heard his grandfather say “owie” and his uncle reply, “Why did you do that?” followed by a slapping noise.
A review of the 911 call made by the defendant suggested he was not out of breath or otherwise experiencing any kind of physical exertion — despite claiming to have performed CPR on his father for 30 minutes.
Police allege the defendant killed his father via “numerous separate impacts” to the victim’s head.
Jason Tourtillott is currently being detained in the Wood County Jail on $1 million cash bail.
