re: Wife of St. Tammany parish fire chief killed by bullet, not the fire

So are we all in agreement the husband is involved somehow?

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Despite 3 autopsies and the work of the highly respected FACES lab at LSU who determined it was a homicide, the sheriff said he did not necessarily believe it was a homicide and promised a press conference the next day. Then 24 hours later he said it was a homicide, had been thoroughly investigated and he had cleared steve. WTF??

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Two autopsies were conducted by the Coroner's Office pathologists. They issued their report last week and listed the manner of death as homicide.

The family's independent pathologist conducted an autopsy, but I'm not aware of a report being made public yet. However, whether they determine the manner of death to be homicide, suicide, or undetermined is irrelevant to the investigation.

I thought the work of the FACES lab was related to post-mortem skull reconstruction to help determine the cause of death. I'm not sure if the results of their work has been made public.

Last week when the Coroner's Office announced that they were classifiying the death as a homicide, Smith was called by the media for comment. He said he didn't necessarily agree or disagree with the findings. A wishy washy noncommittal comment, but perhaps nothing more than that. You take issue with the fact that Smith held a presser the next day, calling it a homicide and clearing Krentel. (The guy with the white hair and beard standing next to Sheriff Smith was Chuck Preston, the coroner.) It's not like the Sheriff's Office just found out it was a homicide, started an investigation and cleared Krental by the next day. The Sheriff's Office investigation started the day after the fire when Nanette's body was found.

Krentel's name has been dragged through the mud since this started. Rightly or wrongly, I don't know. Maybe Smith really believes Krentel wasn't involved and was trying to take a little pressure off of him. Maybe Smith believes Krentel IS involved and was trying to mind frick him. Maybe it's all a gigantic good ol' boy coverup.

As a guy who doesn't know the involved parties and only knows what has been printed in the papers, I can see multiple possibilities.

Krentel killed her and set the fire to destroy evidence.

Nanette shot herself over her husband's alleged infidelities and set the fire as a final frick you to Steve and/or to frame him for her murder.

The alleged mistress killed Nan because Steve wouldn't divorce her.

Nan's lover did it because she wouldn't divorce Steve.

A burglar enters the house thinking it's empty and is confronted by Nan. He kills her and torches the place to destroy evidence.

These are just some of the more plausible explanations. All are 100% complete speculation on my part. There are also other less likely scenarios. Which is true, if any? You may have you suspicions based on your history with the Krentels, but being a litigiousasshole doesn't make you a murderer. Nor does it preclude you from being a murderer.

It seems like his buds would cover for him if he is guilty.

That is the accurate summary of the case thus far. Gingerkittie misstated a few things however this part of her summary also bears repeating as too relevant to not emphasize:

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The sheriff alluded to watching video footage in the investigation but you must know that the video security footage was from steve's own camera's. His dad owned a security company for decade so steve knew how to manipulate the cameras, a void them, edit them, delete footage, etc. Steve had top of the line camera's and was well aware of where they were and what they filmed.

Apparently the place where the footage was stored was inside the house, Well what a coincidence that the house burned!! The fire also destroyed evidence that could have told a more precises time of death. I believe Nan was last hear from on Thurday evening and was not heard from again after that before her death.

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Holy shite! Anyone who thought Steve Krentel might be an unfortunate victim of circumstances needs to read that article and listen to the audio files. Steve tried to tell the family that the house was hit by lightning and he thought Nanette was overcome by the smoke while trying to get the pets out. They didn't find out Nanette had been shot until the day of, or day before the funeral. Nanette's father says Steve's brother Brian threatened to rape and kill Nanette and burn the house down.

The good news is that Nanette's sister is the county attorney at her home in Iowa. She surely has experience navigating bureaucracies, in addition to her legal background. Krentel and/or his brother ought to try to work out a plea deal, because I don't think her family is going to let this lie.

Now, Krentel's family says Nanette lived in fear in the weeks leading up to her death.

"She had been getting some threats and wasn't feeling safe, didn't want dad to come down to visit," said her sister Kim Watson, "I tried to get her to come here, you know, bring your pets, come visit awhile, just until you feel like you're safe down there. 'Oh, I'm fine as long as I'm in my house.'"

Family members say those threats came from her brother-in-law, Brian Krentel, and included warnings of rape, murder and burning the house down. Nanette's father, Dan Watson, says Brian was angry with Nanette and Fire Chief Steve Krentel over a belief that they contributed to him being sent to prison. Watson says his daughter became so fearful of her brother-in-law that she refused to go to her mother-in-law's home where he lived, and the stress of the situation caused a strain in the marriage. Steve Krentel tells Eyewitness News, "After discussing her fears many times, we addressed all concerns to the best of our abilities. That is why she was comfortable at home."

Watson says the threats were made through various mediums, including text messages, that have been turned over to authorities. However, they say they've been told authorities have cleared Brian due to ankle monitor records. The St. Tammany Sheriff's Office announced two weeks ago that it cleared Steve Krentel in the case.

When asked about the family's latest comments on the case, the sheriff's office would only maintain that it would not release any additional information in the case.


LINK

Read post above yours. Family suspects fire chief's brother

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LACOMBE, LA (WVUE) -The death of the wife of a St. Tammany Parish fire district chief has been ruled a homicide according to a statement released by the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s office.

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Smith released the statement Wednesday morning saying his office “does not necessarily support” the coroner’s findings.

Smith along with representatives from the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, will hold a press conference Thursday at 10 a.m.

“At this time, the Sheriff’s Office investigation does not necessarily support the Coroner’s conclusion in this case. Sheriff Randy Smith will provide an update on the current status of the investigation at tomorrow’s press conference.“

One the day of the fire, authorities were called to a home on Philip Smith Road in Lacombe.

When fire personnel from several fire districts and representatives from the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames.

After extinguishing the fire, Krentel’s badly burned body was found in the home. The body was turned over to the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.

DNA positively identify the body as that of Krentel. The autopsy also revealed a gunshot wound and determined Krentel’s death was caused by the gunshot and not the fire.

Krentel was the wife of St. Tammany Fire District No. 12 Chief Stephen Krentel.

At the time, arson investigators said the case is especially difficult because the fire had been burning for nearly an hour before it was discovered, making evidence gathering difficult.
LINK

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Wow. the fire went on for an hour.

So the fire chief's ex con brother explicitly threatened to rape, murder and burn her house down, and she ends up murdered with her house burned down?

But sheriff Barney Fife disagrees with the coroners findings of murder and has cleared the the husband's ex con brother. Seems legit.