Crime & Safety

Video: Murder Victim's Mother Tells How She Watched Her Son Die

Lori Kwiatkowski, mother of murder victim Jonathan Kwiatkowski, testified in a preliminary hearing why Sean Forester-Hoare allegedly killed her son.

A courtroom filled with friends and family sobbed as Lori Kwiatkowski gave her testimony in a preliminary hearing Wednesday as she recalled how her son, Jonathan Kwiatkowski, died on April 4.

Sean Forester-Hoare, 29, lived three houses down from Kwiatkowski and his family. Forester-Hoare is accused of first-degree intentional homicide. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Kwiatkowski, 21, of Wind Point, was stabbed in the throat while he was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher. He died after he, and his family, had a violent conflict with Forester-Hoare over his driving, said Lori Kwiatkowski.

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"You took his life," Lori said. "You took my baby's life because of his driving!"

Lori, who is the state's only witness in the case, told the court that Jonathan had come up to her room in the middle of the night saying that Forester-Hoare was yelling at him. She also said she saw Forester-Hoare stab Jonathan in the throat, and that Forester-Hoare had punched her and her husband, Tim Kwiatkowski.

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After hearing the testimony, Racine County Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch found probable cause and set the arraignment for 10 a.m. May 18 in Racine County Felony Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz's courtroom.

After the hearing, Jonathan Lavoy, Forester-Hoare's attorney, told reporters that there is more to the story, but those facts couldn't come out at this time.

Lavoy said Sean and his family feel horrible for the Kwiatkowski’s loss in the death of their son. But Lavoy noted that Sean comes from a good family, and he doesn’t have a criminal record.

“We are still investigating this ourselves,” Lavoy said. “But Sean’s parents are devastated… Still, there are always two sides to every story and everyone should withhold judgment until all of the facts come out.”


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