17-Year-Old Involved in Stabbing Near Neillsville Enters Plea
Wednesday, November 4th, 2015 -- 4:50 PM
-The 17-year-old involved in a stabbing near Neillsville entered a plea in Clark County Court on Wednesday. According to the Clark County Sheriff's Department, the incident happened at N1754 State Highway 95 in the Town of Levis at the beginning of April.The incident began when 17-year-old Matthew Gebhardt's sister and the 27-year-old victim stopped at the home to say good-bye before they left on a trip. Gebhardt told his sister to have a shot with him and said, if she did, she could punch him in the face. They took the shot, she punched him, but they hugged and said there were no hard feelings.
However, Gebhardt's girlfriend became upset that his sister had punched him, so she got into a fight with the girl. At this point, the 27-year-old got involved and he allegedly grabbed Gebhardt by the neck and pulled him away. Gebhardt then drew out a pocket knife and stabbed the 27-year-old in the neck 3 times. He had to be tackled by another individual before he was stopped. The 27-year-old was taken to the hospital and Gebhardt was arrested. Gebhardt said he was in a rage and acted in self-defense. He had also left with his girlfriend, briefly, and threw the knife out the window. Authorities were unable to locate it.
A plea agreement was reached between the defense and district attorney. The agreement was agreed upon because many of the witnesses are relatives of Gebhardt and most were drinking, so the district attorney felt it would be difficult to prove the original charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The 1st degree intentional homicide Gebhardt had been charged with was amended to a 2nd degree intentional homicide and both sides are free to argue sentencing. Gebhardt was found guilty, due to a no contest plea, of the charge and the judge ordered a pre-sentencing investigation. His bond was revoked and he'll be back in court for sentencing in January. He could spend up to 30 years in prison if sentenced to the maximum amount.
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