By Megan Schmidt
Gannett Wisconsin Media
MANITOWOC — Manitowoc County Judge Patrick Willis found enough evidence Friday to proceed to trial in the case of a Chilton man connected to the disappearance of his live-in girlfriend.
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Roger Rosenthal, 51, who was charged with hiding a corpse in January, remains in jail on $50,000 bail.
Rosenthal, whose preliminary hearing was completed Friday, could enter a plea at his arraignment March 16.
He was taken into custody Jan. 23 on charges of obstructing police in Calumet County as authorities investigated the disappearance of Michelle Jaeger, 39. Rosenthal told law enforcement officials that Jaeger was visiting someone in Milwaukee.
He was charged with hiding a corpse Jan. 29 in Manitowoc County after Jaeger's body was discovered. She had been missing since Jan. 9.
Earlier this month, Calumet County Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz said he and Manitowoc County Dist. Atty. Mark Rohrer would discuss additional charges once test results are returned from the State Crime Lab in Madison.
Jaeger's body was found on a sled covered with peanut bags and branches Jan. 23 by two friends of Rosenthal. They searched land in Manitowoc County, east of Brillion, where they knew he hunted.
Several witnesses testified during the hearing, which lasted nearly two hours.
Cynthia Buhl, Jaeger's long-time friend, said her husband reported Jaeger missing on Jan. 20. Buhl and Jaeger spoke almost every day and she was very concerned that her phone calls weren't being returned. Rosenthal told Buhl that he would "keep her posted" on Jaeger's whereabouts.
"He was always very calm and didn't appear worried," she said.
During Patrolman Jason Kvalheim's testimony, he said evidence gathered at the couple's home at 501 Diane Court in Chilton included red twine and peanut bags that matched the materials used to wrap Jaeger's body. He said he also found a photo of a deer on a sled that looked like the sled on which Jaeger's body was found.
Manitowoc County Coroner Curtis Green testified that the injuries found on Jaeger's body are consistent with a traumatic death.
A forensic exam showed Jaeger had trauma to the back of her head and hemorrhaged eyes, he said. Green said the inside of her lips had lacerations and bruises. Fingernails likely caused two imprinted abrasions found on her face, he said.
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