Racine County Sheriff deputies say a 57-year-old man facing felony domestic violence charges called his victim and asked her to lie for him.
Bruce Kirchhoff was charged Thursday in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony count of solicitation of perjury. If convicted, he faces up to six years in prison on top of any sentence he might receive for the charges filed against him last November.
According to the criminal complaint, a phone call Kirchhoff placed from Racine County Jail to the female victim in his case was recorded. During the conversation, Kirchhoff is heard asking if he put his hands around the woman’s neck and strangled her. She answers that he did strangle her several times and that Kirchhoff dragged her “and everything.”
Deputies say Kirchhoff answered, “Well, then I guess I’m kind of (expletive).”
The defendant then asks the woman if she can downplay the incident, by saying it was an accident. “Work with me on this,” Kirchhoff said. The woman tells Kirchhoff he can’t serve six years and then agrees to at least try, the complaint reads.
Kirchhoff remains in the Racine County Jail on the case filed against him last November and was assigned another $5,000 cash bond for this new charge. He was ordered not to have any contact with the woman. Kirchhoff will be back in court for the perjury charge on April 1.