LIVING HERE
A Lake Geneva man pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Aug. 27, in the death of his stepson.
Steven Merkel pleaded guilty in Walworth County court on Wednesday, Aug. 27, to a single charge of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of his stepson, 8-year-old Michael Meagher. The charge stems from an incident in the Town of Geneva back on January 20th. According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to a residence on Lincoln Drive in the Town of Geneva early Monday, Jan. 20. It was reported that a boy had been shot. When officers arrived on the scene, they came upon the defendant, Steven Merkel. The complaint says he “seemed frantic and was covered in blood.”
Officers were directed to the boy, Michael Meagher, who was lying on the floor after having been shot. Emergency personnel attempted life-saving measures, and Meagher was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced deceased. The defendant stated that after the shooting, he called the boy’s grandmother, who told the defendant to call 911. Merkel also stated that he “drank two little drinks of rum and RC that evening,” the complaint says.
Later in the day, the defendant spoke with a detective from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office about what happened. The defendant stated, “he did something stupid, and it wasn’t the (Meagher’s) fault that the defendant shot him,” the complaint says. Merkel told police he showed Meagher guns “because it made the defendant look cool.” Merkel went on to say he showed Meagher a stun gun and then went to his bedroom to get a 9mm handgun. Merkel told the detective he took the magazine out of the gun and did not believe the gun would fire without the magazine in it.
The complaint says the defendant “stated that he walked out of the bedroom and pointed the gun at (Meagher). The defendant stated that the defendant pulled the trigger and was expecting it to click, but instead it went ‘boom,’ shooting (Meagher).” Steven Merkel is set to be sentenced in November.
