Carlson gets life in prison for murder charge

“He does not ever deserve to be out of the prison system.”

That was the statement from a woman who was attacked and strangled by Cory Carlson last winter while he was placed at Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh after killing his roommate, Joseph B. Bonney, 61, at Almost Home Again, a mental health and AODA treatment facility located in the town of Aurora, in January.

The victim gave her statement by phone during a plea and sentencing hearing held at Taylor County Circuit Court on August 22. She spoke of having symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder since the attack and of nightmares and physical ailments.

Carlson, 38, pled guilty to the first degree murder of Bonney. As part of a plea agreement the strangulation and suffocation charges were dismissed but read in for sentencing. Carlson was sentenced to life in prison with the ability to petition for extended supervision after serving 30 years.

“I know what I did I know what the consequences are, and I was a stupid ass,” Carlson told Judge Ann Knox-Bauer during the hearing. He continued, stating that as long as he was “sitting in prison and not a mental institution” he was fine with the plea agreement.

Throughout the sentencing hearing, Carlson would interject comments when asked yes or no question by the judge. At one point in the hearing Judge Knox-Bauer went off record and brought Carlson’s attorneys and district attorney Kristi Tlusty out of the courtroom. Knox-Bauer questioned if there was a need for a competency evaluation to be completed.

“Are you thinking clearly?” Knox-Bauer asked.

“Perhaps - yes. Everything is a perception of mind,” Carlson replied.

At other times he apologized to the judge. “I have a lot on my mind right now. I am going to prison,” he said, noting this was causing him to have a hard time concentrating.

Knox-Bauer explained that the extended supervision is not guaranteed after 30 years, and that he will have to petition for that at that time. “It is not a sure thing,” she said.

See CARLSON on page 3 “I am going to be old and unhealthy anyway,” Carlson said of his age when he will first be eligible to be released.

Homicide brings with it a mandatory life sentence. Knox-Bauer explained that her discretion is in how long he can serve before being eligible to be released on extended supervision.

“This is a Class A felony, it is the most serious criminal offense,” Tlusty said, noting that one of Carlson’s victims died and and the other is living with the ongoing impacts of the attack. “The impact to the families of these two victims is permanent,” Tlusty said.

Tlusty noted that, to Carlson’s credit, he is willing to accept responsibility and also noted that while in custody in Taylor County Jail on April 17, he asked to speak with Det. Chad Kowalczyk and voluntarily gave additional details regarding Bonney’s death. Tlusty noted that Carlson said he was glad that he got the opportunity to tell the truth to Det. Kowalczyk.

Tlusty said there is a need to protect the public and that it was alarming that even when in a supervised facility like Winnebago, he was able to attack someone else. She noted that in both situations the victims were vulnerable due to their own placements.

Tlusty said that a lesser level of supervision than prison would not protect the public. She said the sentence recommended in the plea agreement protects the public and provides punishment.

“The agreement does not equate to automatic release,” she said, noting the eligibility for extended supervision in 30 years requires Carlson to petition for it.

“What is recommended, does protect the public,” Tlusty said.

Carlson’s attorney Jessica Fehrenbach attempted to paint a more sympathetic picture of Carlson.

In response to questions over his competency and behavior in the courtroom, she explained that until recently Carlson was being medicated with monthly injections while in custody. A change in healthcare providers required Carlson to fill out additional paperwork to continue the medication. He chose not to do so and as of the date of the hearing was nine days overdue for the injection. She noted that while he has diagnoses, he was competent to proceed with the hearing.

“He has struggled with mental illness,” she said, noting this included ADHD, depression and personality disorders.

“He has always understood what he was charged with and what his options are,” Fehrenbach said.

She noted that Carlson had been medicated from a very young age and that has impacted his mental state. Fehrenbach noted that she has read 'hundreds and thousands” of pages of documents about Carlson and that she still does not know close to everything about him.

She said that beneath his exterior there is a kind and polite human being. She noted his childhood included verbal abuse and AODA struggles in his family and said he was put on Ritalin at a very young age.

She said the gravity of the crime Carlson committed was impacting him.

“The severity of the offense cannot be understated,” Fehrenbach said.

However, she noted that Carlson is taking responsibility for what he has done and as was noted by Tlusty, he has been cooperative with law enforcement.

“He admits he did it and now he is going to prison,” Fehrenbach said, In the end, Judge Knox-Bauer accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Carlson to life in prison with eligibility for extended supervision after 30 years. Charges of strangulation in the murder case, and charges of strangulation/ suffocation and disorderly conduct in the Winnebago case were dismissed but read in for sentencing. Carlson has 211 days of sentence credit.