Casino security officer discovered murder victim in parking lot
TOWN OF DELTON, Wis. Jan 24 2019 – A man who was found dead in a casino parking lot had been stabbed, according to a document filed in Sauk County court this week.
Robert M. Pulvermacher, 68, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide Friday, accused of killing 88-year-old Harold A. Johnson, of Portage, whose body was found Jan. 14 in his vehicle parked outside the Ho-Chunk Casino and Convention Center on County Road BD. Authorities also issued an arrest warrant for Pulvermacher, and asked for the public’s help in finding him.
Pulvermacher was last seen on the east side of Madison on Jan. 15, the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Officials said Pulvermacher should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him should call 911 and shouldn’t attempt to apprehend him, officials said.
Victim suffered fatal stab wounds to neck, autopsy says
During an autopsy, a forensic pathologist found Johnson had five stab wounds, two to his neck that severed the carotid artery, both of which would have been fatal, according to the complaint. He also had two stab wounds to his back and one in the shoulder.
Johnson’s daughter told police that her father had lent $100 to Pulvermacher on Jan. 11, according to the complaint. Johnson was supposed to meet Pulvermacher the next day to get his money back, but Pulvermacher never showed up. Johnson was then supposed to meet Pulvermacher on Jan. 13 at the casino.
Video surveillance from the casino on Jan. 13, the night before Johnson’s body was found, showed Pulvermacher and Johnson talking together inside the casino and heading out to Johnson’s car, the complaint said.
he two were together for about 20 minutes while they were in Johnson’s car, which was driving slowly up and down the rows in the parking lot until the car parked in another stall. Pulvermacher smoked a cigarette, then got back inside Johnson’s car through the rear driver’s side door. Six minutes later, Pulvermacher exited the car and went back inside the casino alone.
Police said Johnson never got out of the car and nobody else entered or exited his car until a security officer opened the door to check on Johnson the next day, discovering his body.
Pulvermacher was inside the casino until 1 a.m., when he paid another casino patron $100 in casino chips to drive him to Madison, according to the complaint. The other patron also helped Pulvermacher find a Madison hotel that accepts cash payments.
On Jan. 14 at about 1:40 a.m., Pulvermacher paid cash for a three-night stay at the Rodeway Inn, the complaint said. However, surveillance video shows Pulvermacher walking away from the Rodeway Inn on Jan. 15 and he never returned.
Department of Corrections records show Pulvermacher has an extensive criminal past in the state of Wisconsin including burglary, recklessly endangering safety, false imprisonment and gun possession convictions. He also escaped from prison in 1998 for nine days.
Pulvermacher is a resident of the town of Middleton, according to court records.
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