Update: Prosecutor: Plea agreement in murder case 'fair'

WAUSAU — The prosecution and defense in the case of a man accused of taking part in the 2012 beating death of a popular Wausau bowler agree that the reduced charges he pleaded to Wednesday are appropriate.

"I think what happened today was fair," said Marathon County District Attorney Ken Heimerman. "By 'what happened today' I mean there was a plea to two charges. One was party to the crime of felony murder and the other was party to the crime of burglary of an occupied dwelling."

Warren Krohn, 23, of Wausau was convicted of those two charges in the brutal 2012 slaying of Kerby Kniess .

The felony murder charge carries a smaller penalty than the first-degree reckless homicide with a dangerous weapon charge that Krohn had been facing, said his defense attorney, Wright Laufenberg. The original charge carries a maximum of 65 years in the Wisconsin State Prison System.

"We believe (the felony murder charge) fit the fact pattern better than the original charge and that was part of the negotiations," Laufenberg said.

Charges of armed robbery as party to a crime and theft while armed with a dangerous weapon as party to a crime were dismissed as part of the deal.

Heimerman agreed to request a maximum of 25 years in prison and eight and a half years of extended supervision when Krohn is sentenced Feb. 27. Heimerman said he would need to see an in-depth report on Krohn, known as a pre-sentence investigation, before deciding how much prison time to seek at sentencing.

Krohn's co-defendant, 20-year-old Zachary Froehlich of Wausau, was sentenced on Nov. 4 to 35 years behind bars on a charge of first-degree reckless homicide.

Police said the two men went to the furnished garage where Kniess was living on Wausau's west side in order to rob him, which they had done before without awakening him. This time, however, the two brought a baseball bat, which Froehlich used to beat Kniess in the head four or five times, according to court documents.

The couple in whose garage Kniess was living found his body the next morning, according to court records.

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