On the evening of May 15, 2024, Kyle Larry Dahl, a 36-year-old White/Caucasian male from Ettrick, Wisconsin, was driving near Highway 53 and County Road TT when his life was tragically cut short in what was initially investigated as a suspicious death and later ruled a homicide. The incident, which at first appeared to be a car crash, was the result of a violent encounter on the road.
The investigation by the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office pieced together the events of that evening
through surveillance footage and witness statements. It is alleged that Dahl's vehicle was being followed by a red sedan. The driver of the sedan, later identified as Todd Gieck, 61, of Melrose, was reportedly irritated when Dahl slowed his vehicle to look at a boat on the side of Highway 53. According to a witness, Gieck then drove his car to catch up with Dahl's vehicle, passed it on the right, and parked alongside the road. Gieck is then accused of shooting out the rear window of Dahl's car.
A projectile from the firearm struck Dahl above his right eye. He was transported to a hospital, but the injury proved to be non-survivable, and he later died. An examination of the scene determined that Dahl had been hit by a "tumbling bullet." The Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office quickly developed a person of interest in the early stages of their investigation.
Todd Gieck was arrested in connection with the death of Kyle Dahl. While initially held on unrelated charges, court records indicate he was later charged in Jackson County with being an Outstate Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of THC. The homicide case was referred to the Trempealeau County District Attorney's Office for charging decisions. A local judge recused himself from the case due to Dahl being a county employee who worked closely with the court system.
