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Man will stand trial in wife's 1997 death

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David Brossard

ELKHORN — David Brossard was tired of his wife cheating on him, using drugs and not coming home at night, a woman testified Wednesday in Walworth County Court.

He followed his wife, watched her meet men and grew so angry that one day he said he might kill her, chain her to concrete blocks and drop her in Geneva Lake, said Carol Badoni, who at the time was having an affair with Brossard.

"This happened exactly how David Brossard said it was going to happen," she testified during Brossard's preliminary hearing in Walworth County Court.

Badoni might be a key witness in the criminal case against Brossard, 40, who Wednesday was bound over for trial on a charge of first-degree intentional homicide stemming from the death of his wife, Dawn M. Brossard, who was 29 when she went missing in 1997.

But David's defense attorney claims the woman has fantasies and can't be believed.

Badoni never told police about David's alleged statements until six years later, after learning in media reports that Dawn's body was found chained to concrete blocks at the bottom of Geneva Lake in July 2003, defense attorney Charles Blumenfield said.

And she continued to sleep with David after his alleged statements despite having the knowledge that his wife was missing, apparently not worried that he might have killed her, he said.

"She didn't do anything a rational human being would do," Blumenfield said.

Badoni also testified that David might be the father of her child and might be tied to the mob, both outrageous allegations, he said.

And she has taken medication for depression and has attempted suicide multiple times, landing her in mental institutions, Blumenfield said.

"She is a very troubled soul," he said. "I think she has a great deal of inventive capability."

Badoni often rolled her eyes, stared at the ceiling and refused to answer questions during her testimony. She trembled on the witness stand and appeared on the verge of tears.

She was angry and evasive. She often cussed and yelled.

Judge Michael Gibbs declared her a hostile witness at the request of Walworth County District Attorney Phil Koss.

Badoni testified that she never told anyone about David's statement because she was afraid of his family and worried she might get in trouble.

"I didn't want them to think I'm involved," she said. "I don't want nobody thinking it was me."

Jeffrey Jentzen, who performed the autopsy on Dawn, testified that Dawn likely died from skull fractures to her head from a carpenter's hammer or sledgehammer.

"I think there were at least two separate blows," he said.

During closing arguments, Blumenfield said the state has no physical evidence linking David to the crime and its best witness has no credibility.

In response, Koss said David had a motive to kill his wife and told someone ahead of time how he would eventually do it. He said jurors would decide whether his witness is credible.

Brossard wore a blue jailhouse outfit during the hearing. Family members on both sides sat in the courtroom.

David remains held in the Walworth County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison without parole.

David will be arraigned at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3.