In the small village of Nelsonville, Wisconsin, a heart-wrenching story unfolded in the spring of 2009. Two-year-old Griffin Kettner, a White male, lost his life on April 30, 2009, in a shocking act of violence that also claimed the lives of his mother and sister. The tragedy came to light after the children's maternal grandmother, concerned for her daughter's welfare, contacted the authorities.
Responding to the call, sheriff's deputies arrived at the family's home but received no
answer. The following day, they returned with the landlord. The windows of the house were ominously covered with blankets, drapes, and cardboard. Forcing their way inside, investigators were met with the overwhelming smell of gasoline, which had been poured throughout the residence. The bodies of Griffin, his 3-year-old sister, Ashley Kettner, and their 30-year-old mother, Christine Gollon, were discovered within the home. Autopsies would later reveal that the children had died from gunshot wounds, while their mother's death was described as a "complex homicidal fatality" that included cuts and wounds.
The sole suspect in the gruesome discovery was the children's father, 36-year-old Shane Kettner. He was found inside the barricaded, gasoline-soaked home, holding his unharmed 6-month-old daughter. Investigators also located a suicide note at the scene. It was later revealed that Christine Gollon had been in the process of ending her relationship with Kettner and was moving out of the house they shared.
Shane Kettner was taken into custody and subsequently charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Initially, he entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease. However, he later changed his plea to guilty to two counts of first-degree homicide for the deaths of his children and one count of first-degree reckless homicide for the death of Christine Gollon. For these crimes, he received two life sentences for the murders of Griffin and Ashley, and an additional 30-year term for their mother's death.
