Seehaver sentenced to 40 years in prison

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By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE —  Former Colfax resident Richard Seehaver has been sentenced to 40 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision for the murder of former Colfax resident John Likeness in Menomonie in December of 2018.

Seehaver, along with his attorneys, Donna Burger and Shelly Tomtschik, appeared before Judge Rod Smeltzer for a sentencing hearing June 18 on one felony count of second degree intentional homicide.

The sentencing hearing lasted a little more than two hours.

Dunn County District Attorney Andrea Nodolf asked the court to sentence Seehaver, age 54, to the maximum time in prison of 51 years, while Seehaver’s attorneys asked the court for a shorter sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison.

All together, five people gave victim impact statements to the court.

John Likeness was born in California but moved with his parents to a farm in the Colfax area, went to school in Colfax and graduated from Colfax High School in 1982.

Seehaver graduated from Colfax High School in 1984.

Nodolf read a statement from Chris Likeness.

John Likeness was Chris’s uncle, but the two were close enough in age that they were more like brothers and grew up together in California and Wisconsin.

Chris and John liked to play Brahms waltzes together on the piano, either in person or over the telephone. John stayed with Chris in California the year before he was murdered. Chris Likeness described John as a great cook, a teacher and a mentor and said his young daughter misses her great-uncle and that he has had to obtain therapy for himself and for his daughter.

John Likeness purchased a house in Menomonie, and Chris and John had plans for Chris to help with remodeling the house and spending Christmases together.

“I want my John back … John is gone and unable to be replaced,” Chris Likeness said in his statement.

Like many of the people who made statements to the court, Chris Likeness objected to Seehaver pleading “no contest” to the murder . The “no contest” plea, they said, indicates Seehaver has no remorse and takes no responsibility for killing John Likeness.

Seehaver shot Likeness with a crossbow, hitting him in the chest but missing his heart. Likeness was able to call 911, and when police officers arrived at the house, Seehaver thought Likeness was not dying fast enough and and cut his throat and stuffed a glove in his mouth.

The murder of John Likeness was “vicious” and “personal,” and Seehaver is blessed there is no death penalty in Wisconsin, Chris Likeness wrote.

He asked the court to sentence Seehaver to the maximum number of years in prison.

Kind soul

Annaliese Gibson submitted a recording to the court.

John Likeness was a “one of a kind” guy you would want as a friend or family member, and he never met a stranger. He was generous, friendly and compassionate, Gibson said, noting that she had known John Likeness for 24 years.

Seehaver had known Likeness for twice as long and had found safety and stability under Likeness’s roof, she said.

“John believed in you,” Gibson said.

“You took out your friend, who wanted to do the best for you. He was helping you, and you betrayed him,” she said.

Gibson said as much as she loved John Likeness, God loved him more.

“I forgive you,” she said, before asking the court for the maximum penalty.

Seehaver perpetrated the heinous murder of a kind soul and has no regard for life. For the safety of others, Seehaver should be in prison, Gibson said.

More than

In a piece of his writing, John Likeness said he wanted to be remembered for “being more than a big fat guy,” said Dan Likeness, who is one of John Likeness’s four older brothers.

After growing up in Colfax, John joined the Army and served in the 101st Airborne n a variety of places overseas, including Iraq, and he was a highly decorated sergeant who had earned two purple hearts, Dan Likeness said.

After serving in the Army, John Likeness suffered from the physical effects of exposure to chemicals and from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After leaving the Army, John Likeness lived with their parents, went back to school, and became a certified psychiatric nurse, Dan Likeness said.

Along the way, John Likeness took care of their parents.

In time, because of the PTSD, John became homeless but then began living with family members, which gave Dan Likeness the opportunity to really get to know his younger brother, who was intelligent and had a wide range of interests, from classical music to cooking. Going to culinary school and opening a restaurant was one of John Likeness’s dreams, his older brother said.

Eventually John Likeness enrolled in a program at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in California where he had 18 months of therapy followed by six months in a half-way house. John Likeness moved into an apartment, and then he found out about a VA program that would help him purchase a home, Dan Likeness said.

Dan Likeness helped his brother, who used a scooter to get around, board a train for a trip that would finally take him to Wisconsin where he was able to put in an offer on a house in Menomonie and become a proud homeowner. He said he had no idea when he put John on the train that he would never see his brother again.

Dan Likeness also said he had “felt relief” when John told him that he had made contact with the Seehaver family.

“I miss John immensely. He was a great brother and a friend, and much more than ‘a big fat guy.’ I love you, John,” Dan Likeness said, and asked the court for life in prison for Seehaver with no possibility of parole.

War hero

Mark Likeness, also John’s older brother, left home when John was a child. He said he spent time with John until he was eight years old when John moved to Wisconsin with their parents to live on a farm near Colfax.

John Likeness visited Mark in California while he was on leave from the military, and “he was loved by my sons,” Mark Likeness said.

John Likeness was much loved by all of his family. John struggled with health issues and with wounds he had suffered in the military, Mark Likeness said.

When John was serving with the 101st Airborne in Iraq, he was driving an ammunition truck and was hit in the leg by a bullet. He kept on doing his duty, Mark Likeness said.

When Iraqi tanks lined up in front of John’s truck, John said goodbye to his friends — and then the Air Force arrived. John Likeness suffered shrapnel wounds, concussion wounds, and from the effects of exposure to chemicals and smoke, he said.

John Likeness was awarded two bronze stars and a silver star. He was a decorated war hero — “they don’t just give those away,” Mark Likeness said.

John Likeness also served in Panama when Manuel Noriega was removed from power. The enemy threw hand grenades — and John threw them back. Many of his fellow service members lived because of John, and John lived through all of that, only to be the victim of a brutal murder, he said.

Since John’s murder, Mark Likeness said he has not had a good night’s sleep and that he can hear John in his sleep, calling for help, in the voice of an eight-year-old child.

Seehaver committed a cold-blooded murder and should be locked up “for the rest of his days” because he is a terrible danger to others, Mark Likeness said.

First home

John had found his place in the world. He got on a train to find his life and traveled to Texas and Louisiana and ended up in Wisconsin, said Lori Likeness, John’s younger sister.

John called and said, “You’ll never guess where I am,” to which she had replied, “Colfax” and “Did you find the Seehavers?”

John told his younger sister he had spent the day with “Ma” — not Diane Seehaver, but “Ma.”

“He loved your family. He cherished your mother,” Lori Likeness said.

John Likeness had bought his very first house at the age of 54, and “he was so proud,” she said.

Lori Likeness said that John and her 17-year-old son were best friends and there were plans for her son to come to Wisconsin to attend basketball camps. John had wanted her son to enroll at UW-Stout so they could “go to college together” and go on adventures in Wisconsin.

In fact, there were plans for family visits for Thanksgiving and Christmas, for football games and to go on fishing trips, she said.

John Likeness was always trying to help others and had opened his house to Seehaver and his girlfriend, Katy, Lori Likeness said.

“I don’t understand how a human being could do this to another human being,” she said, describing Seehaver as heartless, conniving, and a killer who deserves life in prison.

Lori Likeness said if her brother had survived, he would have forgiven Seehaver, and that she believes her brother has forgiven Seehaver for taking his life.

“John forgives you because that’s the kind of person he was … because John forgives you, I forgive you,” she said.

District attorney

The murder of John Likeness was especially violent and disturbing, said District Attorney Nodolf.

Likeness had recently been released from the hospital. There was a hospital bag nearby, and he was seated in his recliner, watching television, she said.

Seehaver positioned himself at a hidden angle in a stairway, and an aggravating factor is that he treated John Likeness like an animal. John was a lifelong friend, and Seehaver treated him like an animal, she said.

Despite being shot in the chest with an arrow, John Likeness was able to call 911 and communicate with dispatchers. When the police arrived, Seehaver continued the attack, and he shows no remorse, Nodolf said.

Seehaver has a violent past. He has been in state prison three times. In 1992, at the age of 23 in Pierce County, he pointed a loaded handgun at his wife and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired. After that, he dragged a woman out of a bar by her hair and began hitting her with a pipe. He put a dog leash around the neck of his adult step-daughter and said that if he wanted to hang her, he would have done it already, Nodolf said.

In a 2001 case, Seehaver was convicted of battery to a police officer and spent four years in prison. In 2010, he was charged with substantial battery for attacking an inmate in the Dunn County jail in the laundry room. While the other inmate was trying to get up, Seehaver would take a sip of his coffee, and when the inmate regained his footing, Seehaver went back to attacking him. He also attacked another inmate in the shower, Nodolf said.

Seehaver has been given chance after chance, and the violence has escalated, she said.

John Likeness was actually closer to Seehaver’s brothers, but he allowed Seehaver’s girlfriend, Katy Bundy, to live in his house. He knew they were doing drugs, and he tried to get them out of his home, Nodolf said.

“Prisons were built for individuals like Richard Seehaver,” she said.

The defendant “is not the kind of person we can take a chance on.” Seehaver did not give John Likeness a chance, Nodolf said.

Nodolf asked for the maximum prison sentence of 51 years of initial confinement and 20 years of extended supervision, along with no contact with the Likeness family.

Attorneys

Seehaver pleaded no contest, and by doing so, saved all involved from a highly emotional trial, Tomtschik said.

There were concerns about Seehaver’s mental health, and he went to Mendota for help because he wanted to participate in his legal defense. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2004. His mental status was an issue, and his grasp on realty was tenuous, she said.

After Seehaver was charged with the murder of John Likeness, a mental health evaluation indicated Seehaver needed treatment to become competent to participate in his own defense.

Seehaver has had to come to terms with killing his best friend. Weeks before that, he was throwing electronic devices on the fire to stop communications with the “upper echelon,” which he believed was selling babies for their body parts, Tomtschik said.

Seehaver believed the police officers were members of the Aryan Brotherhood and were going to kill him. At the time, he felt it was necessary to kill John Likeness, because John was involved with the “global hierarchy.” Seehaver believed he was doing the world a service, she said.

Seehaver attempted to shoot John in the heart, but the bolt missed by a few inches, so he “hurried things along” by cutting Likeness’s throat. Seehaver intended to end Likeness’s suffering, Tomtschik said.

This case has not been easy for anyone, Burger said, asking for the minimum time in prison necessary that would protect the public.

Seehaver has a lengthy record, but he has always taken responsibility, has entered pleas, and there have been no trials. He served in the military as well and was honorably discharged. He has struggled to maintain healthy relationships. He is an avid reader, has multiple interests, and enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and driving ATVs, she said.

Seehaver was acting bizarrely before he murdered Likeness, and he was burning electronic devices. Likeness and Bundy tried to get him to seek help. His mother said the mental health issues had started when he was 14, and it has been a 40-year struggle with mental illness and problems with alcohol and drug addiction, Burger said.

Seehaver cooperated with investigators and while at Mendota, and he chose not to pursue a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. A trial would have caused further trauma, Burger said.

Lengthy incarceration reduces life expectancy, and each year in prison reduces life expectancy by two years, she said, asking for initial confinement of 25 to 30 years.

Judge

When Judge Smeltzer asked if Seehaver wanted to address the court, Seehaver gave a single word answer — “No.”

John Likeness’s family traveled a great distance and felt it was important to be in court for the sentencing hearing, Judge Smeltzer said.

The words chosen by Likeness’s family “ring and resonate” with the court, and they explain a lot about John and who he was, the judge said.

This is a case where “it is not a happy day for any of us,” Judge Smeltzer said.

John Likeness’s family must treat themselves in the best way, Judge Smeltzer said, in response to family members having expressed guilt that perhaps they had not called John often enough or had not done enough for him.

Families have to allow their family members to be themselves and to find happiness. John’s “big heart touched a lot of people, and you can be thankful for that,” he said.

John Likeness’s murder was tragic, outrageous and criminal. Once Seehaver aimed the crossbow and released the projectile, and then followed up to finish the murder, “It was over. You can’t take it back,” Judge Smeltzer said.

Regarding the seriousness of the offense, incarceration must be long enough to protect the public, but part of it is also punishing Seehaver for murdering John Likeness, Judge Smeltzer said.

The chances of Seehaver “seeing the light of day are not great, but it could happen,” he said.

Judge Smeltzer sentenced Seehaver to 40 years of initial confinement and 15 years of extended supervision. The judge granted credit for 537 days of time served and ordered Seehaver to pay $618 in court costs and a DNA and domestic abuse surcharge.

Judge Smeltzer also ordered Seehaver to pay $10,200.56 in restitution, to be paid from his prison wages.

In addition, the judge ordered Seehaver to have no contact with the Likeness family, not to possess any firearms or weapons and to participate in mental health treatment.

Seehaver also cannot possess body armor and cannot vote in any election. He is under a lifetime prohibition for possessing a firearm.