A 35-year-old Humbird man is facing an attempted first-degree intentional homicide charge after a Clark County deputy found him and two other people bleeding in a roadside ditch following a domestic dispute on Oct. 18. Jeremy Justice was also charged with strangulation and suffocation, substantial battery, misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct in connection with the confrontation.
According to WEAU, a deputy dispatched to the village of Humbird in Clark County found three people holding onto each other in the north ditch of Prospect Street. Justice and the two victims all had blood on their bodies, and EMS was requested for injuries sustained in the fight. The deputy reportedly observed that Justice had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol; he later told investigators he had consumed about eight shots of vodka that day.
A Dispute Over a Weekend Trip Turns Violent
Justice told investigators the confrontation started because the two victims had taken his children for the weekend without his knowledge, the station's report states. Victim 2 gave a different account to deputies, saying she and Victim 1 had planned the weekend trip with Justice's children to Minnesota and that both Justice and a witness knew about the outing and had texted her throughout the weekend.
Per the same account, Justice began yelling at Victim 2 while she and Victim 1 were unbuckling the children from their car seats. Victim 2 said Justice threatened to kill her for taking his kids for the weekend, and that he punched Victim 1 with a closed fist after Victim 1 insulted him, which is also how Justice described the start of the physical altercation — he said the two of them then started fighting and ended up in the ditch together.
Victim Called 911 Mid-Attack
Victim 2 told investigators she called the sheriff's office during the attack on Victim 1, and that while she was speaking with dispatch, Justice repeatedly told Victim 1, “I'm going to kill you.” She said that when she tried to pull Justice off of Victim 1, he pulled her hair to drag her closer and punched her with a closed fist. Justice was ultimately detained and placed in the back of a patrol vehicle, the outlet reported, while a separate deputy went to Black River Memorial Hospital, where the victims were being treated.
Prior History and a Family in Crisis
Victim 2 said she feared Justice and described previous physical altercations with him, including incidents in which he had physical fights with his girlfriend and had previously broken her ribs and nose, the article notes. Victim 1 said he had personally witnessed multiple physical altercations between Victim 2 and Justice. Victim 2 also said he feared for his life and safety because of Justice. Victim 2 also described Justice's house as unsanitary, saying it had around seven cats living there.
Victim 2 asked investigators how to apply for a restraining order, according to the same report. In Wisconsin, a domestic-abuse injunction can be granted for up to four years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and the Wisconsin Court System offers an online portal that can generate the standard forms and electronically file a petition for a domestic-abuse or harassment order.
Children Reportedly Withdrawn After the Incident
Victim 1 told investigators he had noticed Justice's children had become withdrawn and quiet since the dispute, and said he believed one of the children may have witnessed the altercation. That detail remains Victim 1's stated belief as relayed in the report, not a confirmed fact.
What the Charges Carry
Under Wisconsin law, attempting a crime for which the penalty is life imprisonment is itself a Class B felony, according to the Wisconsin Legislature. The strangulation and suffocation charge Justice faces is defined under state statute as intentionally impeding someone's normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth, which is classified as a Class H felony, per the same legislative statute.
An initial appearance for Justice is scheduled for Nov. 2. Statewide data compiled by the Wisconsin Department of Justice's domestic-abuse records only reflects incidents that law enforcement reports to district attorneys' offices and that are specifically flagged as domestic cases by staff there, meaning the full scope of such incidents across the state is not fully captured in those figures.
