CRIME

Gomoll found guilty of murdering girlfriend

Nathaniel Shuda

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Samson Gomoll, 31, of Oshkosh was found guilty Tuesday in Winnebago County Circuit Court of first-degree intentional homicide in the Sept. 20, 2015, shooting death of his girlfriend, Stacey Strange.

After deliberating for only 80 minutes, a jury of seven women and six men found Samson Gomoll of Oshkosh guilty Tuesday of murdering his girlfriend last September.

As Winnebago County Circuit Judge Scott Woldt read the verdict, cheers and applause briefly erupted in the packed courtroom. Gomoll stared straight ahead, showing no emotion, then sipped from a plastic foam cup.

Woldt then convicted Gomoll, 31, of first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The trial, which started Monday, was shorter than officials expected, with both the prosecution and the defense wrapping up their respective cases by about 3:30 p.m. Monday. Closing arguments began Tuesday morning, with the case going to the jury at 9:40 a.m.

Prosecutors argued that Gomoll committed "straight-up, cold-blooded murder" when he shot his girlfriend, Stacey Strange, 40, during the early-morning hours of Sept. 20 during an alcohol-fueled argument at the couple's apartment on West 10th Avenue.

"This case is simple, and it's horrible and it's a violent case, but it's a case of stone-cold murder," Winnebago County Assistant District Attorney Adam Levin said Tuesday during closing arguments.

The defense said the shooting was an act of self-defense because Gomoll believed Strange was going to kill him.

Gomoll testified during the trial.

"He wanted to get up on the stand and justify his self-defense," defense attorney Kevin Musolf said in an interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "We're disappointed (in the verdict), but the jury listened to the evidence and weighed it."

Musolf said his client truly believed his life was in danger and that, under the law, that's all that matters when mounting a case of self-defense. He declined to comment Tuesday on whether his client plans to appeal the conviction.

Court reconvened once, about 10:40 a.m., when the jury asked whether it could consider documentation relating to testimony that Gomoll was injured a week before the shooting after Strange allegedly pushed him down a flight of stairs. Woldt told the jury it could only consider exhibits entered into evidence.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 22.

Reach Nathaniel Shuda at 920-426-6632 or nshuda@thenorthwestern.com; on Twitter: @onwnshuda.

Family and friends of Stacey Strange react Tuesday in Winnebago County Circuit Court to the verdict in the case against Samson Gomoll, 31, of Oshkosh.