In a heartbreaking incident on Sunday, Barron County authorities discovered two people dead at a home north of Chetek. The sheriff’s department responded to a distress call around 12:50 p.m. when a concerned individual reported that a woman was found lying outside in a pool of blood, unresponsive.
Upon their arrival, law enforcement officers confirmed the tragic news, finding the woman deceased outside the residence and the man also found dead inside the home. The victims have been identified as Michael and Michelle Turnipseed, aged 53 and 51, respectively. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald shared that the two had been separated, and there was an active legal case surrounding the couple.
Court records revealed that Michelle had filed for divorce in September, just days after Michael was charged with domestic abuse-related crimes, including intentionally pointing a firearm at another person and disorderly conduct. Sheriff Fitzgerald confirmed that Michael arrived at the home Sunday afternoon, where he and Michelle were believed to have engaged in an altercation.
Michelle Turnipseed, a Registered Dental Hygienist, worked at River Birch Dental in Chetek at the time of her passing. Before that, she had worked at River Place Dental in Amery, WI, and Valley Dental, Inc. She was a graduate of Fort Atkinson High School and had spent much of her life contributing to her community through her dental hygiene career.
