Katie R. Kieffer, a 35-year-old White/Caucasian female from Darlington, Wisconsin, was killed on September 19, 2026, during a shooting outside a residence on Rose Lane in the Town of Smelser, just south of Cuba City. According to the Grant County Sheriff's Office, the incident unfolded shortly before 1:30 p.m., when the county dispatch center received a 911 call reporting two people suffering from gunshot wounds outside the residence. Deputies and other emergency personnel arrived to find Kieffer and 40-year-old Ben Randecker of rural Cuba City on the ground near a vehicle. Kieffer was already deceased, while first responders began providing aid to Randecker.
Investigators determined that Kieffer and Randecker had previously been in a relationship and shared a child, but their relationship had recently ended. On the afternoon of the shooting, Kieffer went to Randecker's Rose Lane residence to drop off their child. Authorities said that after Kieffer arrived and got out of her vehicle, Randecker shot her with a handgun. Investigators said Randecker then turned the weapon on himself.
The shooting was not the first recent incident involving Randecker and allegations of violence connected to the former relationship. Authorities revealed that on August 14, 2026, approximately five weeks before Kieffer was killed, Randecker had been arrested following an incident in Darlington. He was charged in Lafayette County with domestic battery, domestic disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property, and stalking. Those charges were still part of his recent legal history when the September shooting occurred.
After the September 19 shooting, Randecker remained alive when emergency crews reached the scene. He was initially transported to Southwest Health Center in Platteville and was subsequently transferred by ambulance to a hospital in Madison for further treatment. He later died from his injuries. Because investigators concluded that Randecker shot Kieffer before shooting himself, there was no subsequent arrest or prosecution in connection with her killing. The earlier Lafayette County charges also did not result in a trial or conviction before his death. Grant County authorities described the deaths as a murder-suicide, while noting that the investigation remained ongoing.
Kieffer had deep roots in southwestern Wisconsin. She was born March 1, 1991, in Dodgeville and grew up in Darlington, graduating from Darlington High School in 2009. While still in school, she attended Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore and earned certification as a nursing assistant. She later worked as a CNA and LPN at Lafayette County Manor in Darlington and Bloomfield Manor in Dodgeville before returning to college to pursue training as a pharmacy technician. She eventually worked at Hartig Drug in Darlington, where her obituary described the close relationships she developed with coworkers and customers.
Outside of work, Kieffer served as secretary of the Pecatonica Valley Antique Club and enjoyed gardening, cooking, spending time with friends, and taking annual trips with them. Her obituary remembered her as independent, thoughtful, positive, and someone who made an effort to make others feel welcomed and cared for. Above all, her family described her son, Rolan, as the center of her life and her greatest joy.
What began that Saturday as a trip to drop off her child ended with Kieffer losing her life outside the Smelser Township residence. The circumstances released by investigators, including the recent end of the relationship and Randecker's August arrest on domestic violence and stalking-related charges, became significant parts of the investigation into what preceded the fatal encounter. With Randecker also deceased, there will be no murder trial or criminal conviction determining responsibility in a courtroom; the publicly released account of the killing is based on the findings announced by the Grant County Sheriff's Office and Coroner's Office as their investigation continues.
