Naman Shrestha
In March 1992, a 23-year-old woman named Tanna Togstad was found dead inside her farmhouse in Royalton, Wisconsin, with her 34-year-old boyfriend, Timothy Mumbrue. The double homicide shook the entire community to its core, with their loved ones devastated and taken over by grief. It took the detectives decades before zeroing in on a potential suspect, who claimed that his father was a friend of Tanna’s father. The case and the decades-long investigation are covered extensively in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Raising the Dead,’ which also features emotional interviews with Tanna and Timothy’s family and friends.
Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue Were Found Dead Inside Tanna’s House Alongside Her Dog
Born on August 20, 1968, in New London, Wisconsin, to David R. Togstad and Helen Mary Cmereck Hoffman, Tanna M. Togstad was seemingly raised in a loving household alongside her brothers, Richard and Jeffrey Togstad, and a sister named Veronica Johnson. Being a bright student, she graduated from New London Senior High School with flying colors and landed a job at the Churny Co., Inc. of Weyauwega. She also had a furry little friend named Scruffy, whom she considered a part of her family. In her 20s, Tanna began dating a much older man named Timothy Mumbrue.
Timothy Wendall “T. W.” Mumbrue was born to Lavern “Chuck” Mumbrue and Betty A. Rasmussen Sorenson on June 17, 1957, in Waupaca, Wisconsin. Just like Tanna, he also shared a close bond with his siblings — three brothers, Thomas, Ted, and Todd Mumbrue, and two sisters, Terri Osman and Tina Mumbrue. Before meeting Tanna and falling in love with her, he was a husband to Colleen Minks, whom he had married on October 3, 1987, in Waupaca. During his marriage, he also fathered a son named Cody Mumbrue. By 1992, the Waupaca Foundry employee had seemingly severed ties with Colleen and gotten into a relationship with Tanna Togstad.
Their visions of a bright future together were shattered when 23-year-old Tanna and 34-year-old Timothy were ambushed and killed in the former’s residence on Butternut Ridge Road in Royalton, Wisconsin, on the fateful day of March 21, 1992. The following day, the couple was found dead by the authorities, who also discovered Tanna’s dog, Scruffy, had been fatally stabbed in the house. Upon inspecting the crime scene and the remains, the detectives found out that Timothy died of multiple stab wounds, and Tanna endured a single fatal stab wound to her chest. According to the autopsy reports, the latter was also sexually assaulted. Thus, a homicide investigation was immediately launched.
Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue’s Alleged Killer Was Apprehended Over 30 Years Later
Due to a lack of advancements in technology and enough incriminating evidence at the time, the double homicide of Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue turned cold after the detectives’ efforts didn’t lead to a suspect. Nearly three decades later, the investigation finally led the detectives to a possible male suspect — Tony Haase. In order to confirm their suspicions, the authorities stopped the suspect at a traffic stop in July 2022 and made him sign a warning ticket, and collected his DNA from the pen he used. After his DNA matched the male fluids found on Tanna’s remains, they paid Tony a visit at his workplace, Waupaca Foundry, on August 11, 2022, and took him into custody without any incident.
During his hours-long interrogation, the suspect initially refused to have anything to do with the murders of Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue in 1992. Eventually, Tony ended up admitting to the crimes, telling the detectives that his father and Tanna’s father used to be friends. He claimed that he lost his father in a snowmobile accident when he was only 7 years old and alleged that Tanna’s father had been involved in it. The suspect then told them that on the night of March 20, 1992, he was drunk and thought about his father’s fatal accident, after which he allegedly went to Tanna’s residence to confront her. “This is gonna sound stupid, but I never knew I did it,” he said.
He told the detectives that he had remembered fragments of memories, like getting into a physical altercation with Timothy and stabbing Tanna. Tony told the investigators that he was wrestling with Timothy while standing up when he stabbed him in the chest. When he was asked why he didn’t tell the detectives about the murders right away, he said, “I didn’t want it to sound like I had it planned.” He alleged that he was shocked when he learned about the double homicide on the news. Thus, right after the interrogation, Tony Haase was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue.
Tony Haase Has Been Acquitted of Murder Charges After a Weeks-Long Trial
In July 2025, Tony Haase stood trial for the 1992 murders of Tanna Togstad and Timothy Mumbrue. During the trial, the prosecution presented a series of evidence against the defendant, including his recorded confession about the murders, his DNA sample matching the killer’s DNA recovered from Tanna’s remains, and his handprints matching the prints found on Tanna’s door. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Tony had made a false confession after the detectives resorted to deceptive tactics during the seven-hour interrogation. They also argued that the DNA evidence was flawed and not credible.
The defense also shifted the blame to one of Tony’s family members, who had died in 1995 and had a history of being violent with his former wives and killing dogs and cats. After nearly three weeks of trial and four days of deliberation, the jury reached a final verdict. In early August 2025, Tony Haase was found not guilty of both counts of first-degree intentional homicide and was acquitted of the charges against him. After the shocking acquittal, Tanna’s brother, Richard Togstad, told the Post-Crescent, “We are completely devastated. I don’t even know how a jury, with the evidence that we had, could come up with the verdict they did.”
A few days after Tony’s acquittal, Richard filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against the alleged killer on August 6, seeking $7 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. In response, Tony and his attorneys denied all the allegations on October 2, 2025, seeking that the case be dismissed altogether, a jury trial be held, and Tony be awarded statutory costs and attorney’s fees. As of today, the suspect, Tony Haase, remains a free man, acquitted of all charges against him.
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