Area man who shot father to live in Juneau County, under release agreement

An area judge will allow a Jackson County man who killed his own father to live in Juneau County.

The release has been approved for Lars Helgeson, who had been committed for life for shooting his father Brian a decade ago, and hiding the body. Late last year, Judge Mark Goodman of Monroe County authorized a conditional release for Lars Helgeson, saying the man is no longer a danger to others.

Goodman approved Helgeson’s move to Juneau County during a hearing on Tuesday.

Helgeson was committed to Mendota for killing his father and burying the body on family property in Jackson County in 2013. Lars was 20 at the time he shot his father Brian.

He had petitioned for release, and a doctor who examined him testified in court in late 2022 that Helgeson did not pose a risk to the community if he was let out of the hospital.