Jury agreed unanimously on intentional, not reckless, homicide charge

By Lisa Pett

A jury of seven woman and five men on Thursday passed down a guilty verdict for Andrew Pray, the 33 year-old Plover man who beat his stepfather to death last May.

Pray showed no emotion as the verdict was read aloud. He faces a maximum of life in prison.

Pray was arrested for beating his stepfather with an aluminum baseball bat in the family’s Cedar Drive residence last Memorial Day weekend. The stepfather, 77 year-old Chris Bonnstetter, died on June 3 after spending a week on life support.

Pray had initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but withdrew the insanity plea in February, instead pleading not guilty.

Trial Coverage, Day One:

Jury selection began on March 9. Twelve jurors and two alternates were selected to hear the case in Portage County Circuit Court under the Judge Tom Eagon.

The trial started Monday afternoon with opening statements by the prosecution and the defense attorneys.

Assistant District Attorney Cass Cousins painted a picture of a man frustrated that his mother had refused to divorce her emotionally abusive husband and who took matters into his own hands when he attacked Bonstetter in the home they all shared.

Defense attorney Nathan Otis did not dispute that Pray attacked Bonstetter, or that the injuries sustained in the attack led to his death. The attorney laid the groundwork for a defense based on the fact that Pray suffers from a host of mental and emotional issues, including Autism Spectrum Disorder and will ask the jury to convict on a lesser charge of reckless homicide.

The first witness called to the stand in the case was Jennifer Pray, the mother of the defendant and the wife of the victim.

As the only eyewitness to the attack, Jennifer Pray’s testimony was key in establishing the events of May 26, 2014, when her son, Andrew, attacked Bonnstetter in the living room of the family’s Plover home.

Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Cass Cousins, Jennifer Pray had trouble recalling details of the attack, which she attributed to possible shock. She said she saw “a blur” and heard “three or four sounds” which she could not describe for the court.

Jennifer Pray said she had been considering a divorce from Bonnstetter in the months leading up to the attack and that her son had went with her to see a divorce attorney in February of 2014.

Under cross-examination, Jennifer Pray described her son as non-confrontational and said he avoided his stepfather, even when teased or threatened.

Andrew Pray (left) stands with his defense team to hear Thursday’s verdict. (City Times photo)

“He [Andrew Pray] wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she said.

This prompted further questions by ADA Cousins who asked her if her husband died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the attack by her son.

“Yes,” she replied.

Trial Coverage, Day Two

Plover Police Department officers and recounted arriving at the scene with Bonnstetter being attended by his wife, Jennifer Pray, who told them that her son had struck him with a baseball bat.

Patrol officers testified about placing Pray under arrest while firefighter paramedics from Stevens Point Fire Department attempted to treat Bonnstetter, who was suffering from massive head trauma, facial injuries, broken teeth, a punctured lip, and large, fresh back contusions.

Plover Detective Brian Noel walked the jury through the residence with the aid of crime scene photos. The jury was shown the photos of the blood-soaked carpet, a broken tooth and piece of skull from the victim. They were also shown an aluminum baseball bat that was found at the scene behind a recliner in the living room.

A medical resident and a neurosurgeon from Marshfield testified to the extent of Bonnstetter’s injuries and his subsequent treatment while in the ICU at St. Joseph’s.

Also called was Portage County Coroner, Scott Rifleman, as well as forensic pathologist Robert Corliss who performed the autopsy on Bonnstetter. They both testified that the manner of death was homicide and the cause “respiratory depression as the result of blunt force trauma to the brain.” The jury was also shown the autopsy photos.

Andrew Pray himself also took the stand, describing for the jury his strained relationship with Bonnstetter and admitted to fantasizing about injuring or killing him for years before the attack, but said that he never seriously considered going through with it.

Pray described conflicts with the victim over finances and chores, saying, “He felt like I could have done more.”

Pray was unemployed and collecting disability payments at the time of attack.

He told the jury that his goal was to simply injure Bonnstetter, with the hopes that his mother would get a divorce from the victim.

Defense attorney Nathan Otis pointed out that there were guns in the household belonging to the victim but that Pray did not use them. Crime scene photos of the weapons were introduced into evidence earlier in the trial.

Assistant District Attorney Cass Cousins asked Pray, under cross-examination, if he only wanted to injure Bonnstetter, why did he hit him in the head so much times with such force. Forensic evidence showed that Pray had struck Bonnstetter a minimum of three times, causing massive head trauma which ultimately caused his death.

“I don’t know, I guess,” said Pray. “I wasn’t really aiming. I was going for the upper body.”

The defense then called on forensic psychologist Dr. Anthony Jurek, who testified about Pray’s diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, a neurological, pervasive developmental disorder characterized by difficulty in processing emotions, difficulty in establishing personal relationships, as well as rigid, repetitive thinking.

The defense contended that this mental disorder contributed to Pray’s obsessive thoughts about injuring his stepfather.

Pray will return to court for sentencing on June 9.