A rural Yutan man accused of shooting and killing a man who had permission to hunt on his brother’s property entered into a plea agreement Monday in Saunders County District Court.
Lee Koenig, 51, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a Class III felony. In exchange for his plea, a charge of felon in possession of a firearm, a Class III felony, was dismissed.
Koenig is accused of shooting Russell Christensen, 47, with a high-powered rifle from the back porch of his home. He initially said he thought the man was a coyote.
Christensen had been tracking a deer with his 15-year-old son when he was killed. The boy had been given permission to hunt on the property.
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff has said that he only had enough evidence to file manslaughter and not murder charges. Manslaughter means to cause death unintentionally during the commission of an unlawful act.
Koenig faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced. Without the plea agreement, he would have faced up to another 20 years in prison that would have had to have run consecutively.
“This man needs to go away for as long as the law allows,” said Angie Christiansen, the mother of the victim’s three children. “He destroyed our family.”
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff said he consulted with the family before making the decision to offer the plea bargain. The guilty plea avoided a trial that would have likely required Christiansen’s 15-year-old son to testify.
“In order to get a result they felt was just, we felt this was the best way to proceed,” Tingelhoff said Monday after the hearing.
“I think what he’s thinking is it’s best for everybody involved,” Pat Koenig said Monday, explaining why his brother pleaded guilty to manslaughter. “He hopes some day they will forgive him for the accident.”
Koenig remains in jail on 10 percent of a $250,000 bond. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and sentencing set for Sept. 22.
Joe Duggan of the Lincoln Journal Star contributed to this story.
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