On a cold winter morning in Wausau, Wisconsin, the life of Robin Wibstad Dunwoody, a 39-year-old Caucasian female, was brought to a tragic and violent end. On January 3, 2009, as she arrived for her shift as a nurse at the Wausau Manor nursing home, she was ambushed in the parking lot. Her ex-boyfriend, 54-year-old Walter Lassa of Mosinee, was waiting for her.
He callously shot her twice with a shotgun, ending her life in a place where she was known for her kindness and compassionate care.
The brutal attack was witnessed by some of her coworkers. The couple had been in a two-year relationship that Dunwoody had ended just two months prior. In the time leading up to her death, she had expressed fear of Lassa to her family members, a fear that was tragically realized. Following the shooting, Lassa fled the scene, prompting a search by law enforcement. He was apprehended about an hour later.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a swift, though not comforting, resolution. Walter Lassa pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide. During the sentencing, Dunwoody's sister addressed the court, stating that Lassa deserved the same amount of mercy he had shown her sister—none. Lassa, in a statement read to the court, offered an apology, saying he loved and missed Dunwoody. The judge sentenced him to life in prison with no possibility of parole, ensuring he would not have the opportunity to harm anyone else. Robin, a mother of two sons, was remembered by her family as a loving and generous person.
