Kavonn Ingram Wisconsin fast food worker sentenced in murder of Alexander Stengel South Milwaukee Pizza Hut manager, days after flashing $7K inheritance check.
A Wisconsin man who hatched a plot to kill his Pizza Hut manager after discovering he had inherited $7,000 has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
Kavonn Ingram was sentenced on Friday to 45 years for the killing of 55-year-old Alexander Stengel earlier this year at a South Milwaukee Pizza Hut. Ingram pleaded guilty in August to first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The worker’s arrest followed the discovery of the slain boss in a trash bag behind the restaurant. The co-worker’s death in February came just days after the pizza boss flashed a $7,000 check to fellow fast food workers in lieu of sums he had recently inherited.
Victim’s wallet, keys and cellphone missing
Leading up to his death, the manager had worked for the fast food chain for 33 years.
Prosecutors claimed Stengel was killed in the kitchen area of the Pizza Hut and wrapped in a garbage bag before Ingram disposed of the body.
An autopsy determined Stengel had been shot in the head at close range and had puncture wounds to the neck and head.
From there the worker according to investigators mopped up the murder scene and used Stengel’s phone to text Stengel’s regional manager to say that he was not feeling well and was leaving work early, and clocked Stengel out of work. Ingram then took a bus home.
Investigators later determined that the victim’s wallet, keys and cellphone were missing.
Ingram was found out two days later when a trash truck driver called cops to say they had come across garbage that appeared to have a body in it, ABC7Chicago reported.
Investigators say the Pizza Hut did not have surveillance cameras but based off video from a nearby restaurant, they believe Stengel was killed on Feb. 5.
When investigators went to Ingram’s house, his girlfriend asked, ‘Is this about Alex?’
Pizza worker insisted he shot manager in self defence, except judge didn’t believe him
She said Ingram had plans to get a large settlement that Stengel had just received, and she questioned him about his plans to shoot Stengel according to WAFB.
The criminal complaint alleges Ingram told her, ‘If… your gun is to his head and you shoot him in the head, it works as a silencer, and no one else is gonna hear it.’
Police say they found a gun in a backpack in Ingram’s home. In that same backpack was a check from Pizza Hut in the name of the defendant.
Prior to being sentenced, Ingram took responsibility for his actions while maintaining he was attacked first, and had shot the manager in ‘self-defense,’ WDJT reported.
‘I take responsibility for my wrong actions taken after the altercation at Pizza Hut,’ Ingram said. ‘However, the events leading up to the altercation, as well as the physical fight, caused me to act in survival mode.’
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michelle Havas nevertheless wasn’t convinced.
‘Frankly, I don’t believe you,’ Havas said. ‘I don’t believe for one second that this was anything but a cold-blooded execution of someone who worked for 33 years for crappy wages at a Pizza Hut, because it’s what he could do.’
Prior to the worker being handed his sentence, Ingram’s grandmother spoke on the man’s behalf, saying he had endured a difficult upbringing. The relative said her grandson’s actions ‘are not who he truly is,’ and asked the judge for leniency.
Also addressing the court was Stengel’s niece, nephew, and sister who weighed in on the impact on their family.
‘I imagine his suffering. And his agony. His voice haunts me. I wonder what he was thinking in those last moments,’ the victim’s sister, Pamela Stengel said.
Adding, ‘Did he cry for mercy? Did he even have a chance to fight back? I will never be the same, my life is destroyed and we want retribution.’
A restitution hearing is scheduled for next month.