MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The father of a 15-year-old girl who killed a fellow student and a teacher at a private school in Wisconsin had his bail set at $20,000 on Friday at his first court appearance on charges that he allowed her access to guns.
Prosecutors charged Jeffrey Rupnow, 42, on Thursday with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor causing death and one felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. Rupnow would face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Jeffrey Rupnow’s daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire at her school, Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison in December. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old student Rubi Bergara and injured six others before she killed herself.
Jeffrey Rupnow’s attorney, Bruce Davey, said in court that his client would not be able to post $20,000 in bail, saying “he’s not a wealthy man.” Davey noted that he has no prior criminal history, cooperated with the investigation, has lived in the area his whole life and needs to work at his job to pay his bills and keep his house.
“There’s no reason to hold him in jail,” Davey said. Davey asked for him to be released on a signature bond, which requires the posting of no money.
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne had asked for $100,000, noting the seriousness of the shooting and the pending charges. He mentioned that a victim from the shooting was in the courtroom. He did not name the victim. The proceedings were held in a jail courtroom and viewable only via a Zoom teleconference. The victim was not visible on camera.
“This is unprecedented and we do have two deceased,” Ozanne said. “We have multiple gunshot victims. It’s the defendants actions, inactions, that contributed to this incident.”
Court Commissioner Scott McAndrew said he did not want to set a cash bail so high that Rupnow could not pay it but wasn’t comfortable with a signature bond given the seriousness of the offenses.
He ordered that if Rupnow posts $20,000 and is released, he will be fitted with a GPS monitoring device, not be allowed to have contact with anyone at Abundant Life Christian School, purchase or possess firearms or go to the block where the school is located. He said the cash amount could be reviewed later and set a status hearing for June 9.
McAndrew did not allow reporters into the courtroom, telling them through bailiffs that they could watch the proceeding on Zoom.
Asked outside the courtroom after the proceeding had ended whether the cash bail was high enough, Ozanne said the commissioner made his decision and his office will move forward. He then stepped into an elevator and left.
Davey told reporters he did not think the bail amount was fair. Rupnow has been free since the shooting and has not caused any problems, he said.
Rupnow’s mother was also turned away at the courtroom door and had to listen to the Zoom teleconference by holding her cellphone next to her ear in the lobby. She declined to comment on the case.
According to a criminal complaint, Jeffrey Rupnow told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents’ divorce in 2022.
He bought the two handguns she brought into the school for her as a way to bond with her, he told investigators. He added that he told her the access code to the safe where he stored her guns in case she ever needed them, the complaint said. Rupnow also told investigators he wasn’t sure whether he put one of the guns back in the safe after his daughter cleaned it the day before the school attack.
Investigators found writings in Natalie Rupnow’s room saying she hated people who smoked marijuana and drank as much as they can like her father. She also wrote that her mother wasn’t in her life, that she admired a number of school shooters and that she obtained her guns “by lies, manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.”
Jeffrey Rupnow sent a message to police in the days after the shooting saying the biggest mistake he made was teaching his daughter how to handle guns safely. He urged police to warn people to change their gun safe combinations every two to three months because “kids are smart and they will figure it out.”
Rupnow is the latest in a line of parents of school shooters who have been held criminally liable for their children’s actions in recent years.
___
Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
