Man stabbed his mother to death before abandoning son in hotel, Wisconsin cops say

A man wanted in the death of his 63-year-old mother was arrested in southeastern Wisconsin, police told media outlets.

Derek Goplin had been identified as a person of interest following the Nov. 1 death of Susan Reese, the Antigo Police Department said in a news release.

Police said they were sent to Reese’s home when Goplin’s 5-year-old son was found alone in the hallway of a Waukesha hotel the same morning, WISN reported. The boy told officers he witnessed his dad fatally stab his grandmother, the TV station reported.

Waukesha is about 20 miles west of Milwaukee and 175 miles south of Antigo, where Reese’s body was discovered.

When officers went to her Antigo home, police said they found her dead “from apparent stab wounds.” Police said her death was believed to be a homicide.

The homicide was the first in Antigo since 1998, according to WSAW. The town has a population of about 8,000.

Officers began searching for Goplin, who Antigo Police Captain Daniel Duley said “may have a knife and is known to carry a gun.”

Police in Waukesha said Nov. 3 that Goplin was still believed to be in southeastern Wisconsin, though he had no ties to the city.

That night, Antigo police announced Goplin was taken into custody in Racine County, which is a few miles south of Waukesha. Goplin’s charges include intentional homicide and reckless homicide, according to the Wausau Daily Herald.

Reese was a former restaurant co-owner who was known for always taking care of her family, WBAY reported.

“She would drop everything,” Reese’s niece, Shannon Conrad, told WBAY. “It didn’t matter if it was an emergency. Her heart was most important.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 9:20 AM with the headline "Man stabbed his mother to death before abandoning son in hotel, Wisconsin cops say."