Low's family seeks justice as court case begins

WAUSAU -- Stephanie Low's father won't rest easy until the man police believe is responsible for his 22-year-old daughter's death is locked behind bars for the rest of his life.

"I guess everybody is just hanging in, everybody wants to see justice for Stephanie," George Low told reporters Wednesday, just after a $2 million bond was set for the man accused of killing his daughter during a robbery. "It's a horrible, horrible way — just the reason she had to leave us in the first place is horrible."

Kristopher Torgerson, 34, of Wausau faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery and hiding a corpse in connection with Stephanie Low's death and the burial of her body, which was recovered almost four years after she disappeared. He made his first appearance in Marathon County Circuit Court on Wednesday via video from Wisconsin's maximum-security prison in Boscobel, where he is serving a sentence on unrelated charges.

His attorney, Len Kachinsky, said Torgerson chose to appear via video to avoid the media and the hours he would spend in a squad car on the way to and from prison.

Circuit Court Judge Jill Falstad ordered that Torgerson have no contact with Low's family.

Low's mother reported her missing in October 2010 after she could not get in touch with her daughter, kicking off a search by police, family members and friends that stretched on for almost four years.

Police found evidence of violence in Low's Wausau apartment and noticed that bedding was missing, according to court documents. But they refused to declare her dead or discuss suspicions that she was the victim of violence.

Almost immediately, her family began conducting scores of searches for the young woman or any clue in her disappearance. Her family held fundraisers and built a reward fund. And George Low said in an earlier interview that he would stop on lonely roads to look for her, just in case.

On Oct. 10, the family marked the anniversary of her disappearance with their fourth balloon release and candlelight vigil. They said they planned to continue the annual release for years to come and hope to help other families of missing people.

The years-long search ended in September, when police say Torgerson led them to a shallow grave in the Wabeno area where Low's body was buried.

Charges were filed Sept. 30 against Torgerson, who already had been called a "person of interest" early in the investigation.

His next court date is Nov. 25, and Stephanie Low's family members are bracing themselves for a long road through court.

"I think when it gets to the court proceedings where we're going to start finding out things that happened, I can only imagine it's going to be extremely hard," George Low, who was wearing a shirt bearing his daughter's name and photo, said after Wednesday's hearing.

Alison Dirr can be reached at 715-845-0658. Find her on Twitter as @AlisonDirr