A tip that landed with the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office in September has unraveled into felony charges against two Newton residents accused of plotting to kill a woman in the middle of her divorce. Larry Wallen, 37, and Christina Seguin, 49, were pulled over and arrested without incident this week, and both now face charges of solicitation to commit first-degree intentional homicide.
According to fox11online.com, the sheriff’s office received a report in September describing a possible threat of solicitation to commit homicide. Investigators dug into the tip and determined the concerns were credible, obtaining probable cause to arrest Wallen and Seguin. The two were taken into custody during a traffic stop on Tuesday, the station reports.
The alleged target of the plot was unharmed, the sheriff’s office said, a detail that WBAY attributes to Sheriff Dan Hartwig, who credited the arrests with preventing harm to the intended victim.
Allegations Tied to a Divorce Case
Court proceedings have begun to fill in the alleged motive. Per seehafernews.com, Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre told the court that Wallen solicited an individual to kill his wife while the two were in the process of divorcing. The outlet reports that conversations between Wallen and Seguin are said to have begun in September and continued through October, right up until their arrests.
LaBre described a pattern of alleged planning rather than a single isolated remark, telling the court there were various meetings, comments, and forms of planning involved in the case, the same report notes. The alleged victim herself addressed the court as well, saying she now feared for her life and for the safety of her child, according to the outlet’s account of the October 7 hearing.
Bail Set, Initial Appearance Scheduled
Wallen was held on a $150,000 cash bond, while Seguin’s bond was set at $10,000 cash, figures confirmed by the same outlet’s reporting. Both appeared in court Thursday, with an initial appearance scheduled for October 12, as the case moves forward in Manitowoc County.
The investigation drew on resources beyond the sheriff’s office alone. Deputies worked with the Manitowoc County District Attorney’s Office, the Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit, the Two Rivers Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation Appleton Field Office, and the Wisconsin State Patrol, according to the WBAY report.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office at (920) 683-4201, or Detective Rob Wandrie directly at (920) 683-4215. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the P3 Tips mobile app.
