An Appleton woman accused of fatally stabbing a boyfriend is headed to court

APPLETON – A case against an Appleton woman accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend will go to trial, an Outagamie County Circuit Court judge ruled at a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Samantha Krebs, 39, is charged with first-degree murder the death of a 35-year-old Appleton man on July 18 at an apartment in the 2800 block of North Park Drive Lane. She informed the investigators that the man died by himself.

At a preliminary hearing Thursday, District Attorney Melinda Tempelis called Sgt. Chad Riddle of the Appleton Police Department is on the witness stand to testify about the investigation.

Riddle testified about many of the details also included in the criminal complaint:

• On July 18, around 9:55 p.m., officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 2800 block of North Park Drive Lane for a report of a man who had been stabbed.
• Upon arrival, they found a man lying in the kitchen of the apartment with a stab wound to the left side of the chest. Rescuers provided help, but the man died before being taken to the hospital.
• There were two witnesses at the scene, a man and a woman. They were a couple and were known to the victim and his girlfriend, also known as his fiancee Krebs. At one point, the man was on the phone with a woman he called “Sam.” The officer was on the phone with her, at which point Krebs said she was at a friend’s house and left the apartment around 7 p.m. She asked the officer what was going on and if the victim was okay.
• Both witnesses initially told police they arrived at the apartment and found no one there but the victim. However, when the man and woman were later interviewed by the police, the man said he had “moral problems” and the couple decided to tell the police everything they knew.
• The couple said that when they arrived at the apartment, Krebs was there. The man told officers that Krebs was “looking right at him” and ordered him to tell police that the victim had stabbed himself, Radle testified.
• The woman told officers that Krebs repeatedly said, “I can’t go back to jail.” The man said he told Krebs to leave and called 911 about 10 minutes later. Before leaving, Krebs leaned over, kissed the man and told her she was sorry, the woman said.
• A surveillance camera from a business across the street from the apartment captured the car pulling onto North Park Lane Drive around 9:45 p.m. and parking in the parking lot near the apartment. Two individuals then exited the vehicle and entered the apartment at approximately 9:47 p.m., and one individual exited the building at approximately 9:52 p.m. It was seen how this person got into the car and then drove away.
• Investigators identified the person as Krebs, and she drove the vehicle — with no license plates — into an apartment complex at 2919 W. Glenpark Drive in Grand Chute. Surveillance footage shows Krebs meeting with someone standing outside the apartment, and then the two of them went inside.
• Appleton police arrested Krebs outside the apartment on July 22. She then told the officer that she had just watched her fiance kill himself and was now being arrested.
• Investigators learned that Krebs was staying with a man who lived in the Grand Chat apartment and spoke with him. The man told police Krebs told him the victim had stabbed herself in the chest and was screaming for help. Riddle testified that no neighbors interviewed by police reported hearing screams or commotion.
• During a search of the apartment, investigators found a binder that included a six-page handwritten letter describing the events surrounding the victim’s death, believed to have been written by Krebs. The letter said the victim acted delusional and then threatened to stab herself and make it look like Krebs had done it. The victim then stabbed himself, not realizing how sharp the new kitchen knife was, and Krebs tried to give him help until two witnesses came through the door, the letter said.
• Two people who worked with the victim contacted police separately after the victim’s death and said the victim said his fiancee had threatened to stab him several times.