Konkle
BROWNSTOWN — Witnesses continued to testify Wednesday during the ongoing trial in Jackson Circuit Court of Zachariah David Konkle of Warsaw for the murder of Michael J. Steele in the summer of 2021.
The murder charge is in connection to a fight between Konkle, 33, and Steele, 42, during closing time at the Jackson County Fair on July 27, 2021. Both men reportedly worked with Poor Jack Amusements.
The fight occurred after a family attending the fair asked Konkle if he could find someone in charge because someone around the Long Shot game on the midway had made fun of their special needs child and wanted to file a complaint, according to court records.
During his opening statement Tuesday afternoon, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mark Hollingsworth set the scene and made clear in his opening statement that Steele’s cause of death was asphyxiation but also said a heart attack cannot be ruled out.
The evidence, however, will show a homicide case, he said.
Konkle’s public defender, Jeremy Braunstein, told jurors during his opening statement that the defendant is not denying that the altercation occurred, but the defense is not viewing the incident as a murder. Instead, Braunstein stated the cause of death is likely coronary artery disease.
Much of Tuesday afternoon and throughout the day Wednesday, Hollingsworth called several witnesses to the stand describing the events from their perspective on the night of July 27 and early morning of July 28, 2021, at the fairgrounds.
Hollingsworth first called Dana Steele, the victim’s older sister, to the stand as she testified. During her testimony, Steele was asked when she last saw her brother. She said she had not seen him since 2009 but would talk to him on the phone every so often.
Steele said she was notified by Detective Mark Holt with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department after the incident that her brother was currently at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis due to injuries he sustained from an altercation.
She also was asked if she was aware of any heart conditions or health issues the victim had, and she testified she was not aware of any issues.
Hollingsworth then called the state’s second witness, Officer Jordan Hawn with the sheriff’s department, to the stand since he was on the scene during the incident.
Hawn testified that at 1 a.m., he felt Michael Steele for a faint pulse and a slow deep gasping for air. After performing a sternum rub with no response, Hawn and another officer, Scott Ferguson, performed CPR on the victim until paramedics arrived.
Hawn testified that the situation of the victim was not looking good, and that’s when the decision was made to call Holt to assess the situation.
Shelly Acton, the state’s third witness, is a paramedic with Jackson County Emergency Medical Services and was dispatched to the fairgrounds that night.
Acton testified that dispatchers received a call saying a male was found down with a shallow pulse.
When she arrived on scene, they performed CPR with a LUCAS device.
Acton also testified that when she arrived, Steele was on his back, and she later noticed skin abrasions on both of his shoulder blades and blood coming from one ear. She also noticed Steele’s pupils were dilated, which is a likely sign of no current brain activity in an unresponsive patient.
On Wednesday morning, Kerry Bohlander, owner and operator of Poor Jack Amusements, testified she saw Konkle get into his vehicle after the incident when EMS arrived. She testified Konkle said he was going to get cigarettes.
She persuaded Konkle and his wife to stay and provide any knowledge of the incident they might have. She said Konkle then got out of the car and talked to an officer and was arrested shortly afterwards.
Shelby Vance was then called to the stand as the individual who had asked about filing a complaint about a game operator making fun of her special needs daughter.
Vance said she was trying to find someone in charge to file a complaint and was approached by Konkle saying he would take care of it.
Matthew Walker, a ride and game operator for Poor Jack Amusement, was called to testify and said Konkle seemed visibly upset saying, “If I hit the wrong guy first, the second guy is going to get it twice as worse.”
Walker testified that Steele confronted Konkle about the situation saying, “Let’s throw down.”
Fighting ensued, in which Walker heard Konkle say, “Go to sleep, bitch” while lying on top of Steele and also heard Steele gasping for air.
Walker also testified he saw Konkle hit Steele in the head five times while he was on the ground.
Konkle got off of Steele after hearing Steele gasp for air and later came back to attempt CPR after another witness performed CPR first.
Another witness, Christopher Gartreal, a ride operator for Poor Jack Amusement, said he witnessed the altercation but did not see Konkle have Steele in a chokehold.
Testimony is expected to continue today in the trial presided over by Judge Richard W. Poynter.