Man sentenced in crime-scene burglary

SUPERIOR, Wis. — A Superior man will spend 30 days in jail for breaking into the home where an Iraqi war veteran shot his pregnant wife and 1-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself.

A second man accused in the August burglary is being sought by authorities.

Nicholas Erving Doty, 22, pleaded no contest to being party to the crime felony burglary and misdemeanor theft in Douglas County Circuit Court on Friday.

He was sentenced to one year probation with 30 days in jail for the misdemeanor. Work release was granted and a $389 fine ordered. Doty is to have no contact with the other suspect in the case, Travis Lee Sherman.

A deferred judgment of conviction agreement was entered for the felony count. If Doty complies with the terms of his probation and stays out of trouble with the law for two years, the charge would be dismissed with prejudice.

Sherman, 21, faces a felony burglary charge as a party to a crime. He failed to appear in court Monday for a hearing and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, according to the Clerk of Courts office.

According to the criminal complaint, Doty and Sherman broke into the home at 2011 N. 22nd St. days after the deaths of Matthew Magdzas, 23, April Oles-Magdzas, 26, and their 1-year-old daughter, Lila. The men emptied ammunition out of a backpack found at the residence, then filled it with the X-box 360 game system, controllers and games. Sherman originally told Superior Police Detective Michael Jaszczak they took the items from the garage, but changed his story. He said they entered the house by reaching inside a window and unlocking the backdoor. He told Jaszczak he also took a cell phone picture of the crime scene while at the residence.

A witness overheard Doty and Sherman talk about going to the house where the murder/suicide took place to see if there was “anything good in the house.” The witness also told police that on the evening of Aug. 20, she saw Doty and Sherman with a military backpack that had an Xbox 360 game system, controllers and games in it.

A backpack with the name Magdzas written on the strap and many of the missing items were recovered from the residence where Sherman was staying

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