STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) -- The trial of Ronald Disher, the Almond man charged with being a party to the crime of stealing his mother-in-law’s Social Security checks is in the hands of the jury.
The jury received instructions and closing arguments at about 3:00 p.m. Thursday, and began deliberations. District Attorney Louis Molepske Jr. says the jury is going over a large number of documents entered as evidence, and he expects they may be deliberating until well after noon Friday. After the night off, they will pick up where they left off at 8:30 a.m.
Ronald Disher took the witness stand Thursday, claiming he had nothing to do with the alleged crime, saying he had his own money. Defense attorney Gary Kryshak argued the evidence doesn’t show his client did anything wrong. Prosecutor Veronica Isherwood disagrees, saying Disher knew he was helping Delores and Charles commit the crime.
Molepske says investigators found hundreds of paper documents at the Jost property related to the checks, which the Social Security Administration confirms were cashed until about two years ago.
The 72-year-old Disher is accused of driving his wife Delores and brother-in-law Charles Jost to the bank every month, so they could cash their mother Marie Jost’s checks. Marie Jost hasn’t been seen alive since the early 1980’s.