What did John Shively do? Wisconsin father charged with son's murder

John Shively, a 65-year-old man from Wisconsin, was arrested for shooting his son to death. The incident occurred on July 22, 2023, when an argument between the accused and his son, Zachary Shively escalated at their family home on the 2800 block of Warner Street.

The two allegedly began arguing when the son demanded money from his father. The duo then got into a physical altercation when the victim hit his father. Eventually, the accused picked up the murder weapon that allegedly belonged to the victim and shot him at point-blank range.

The accused called the authorities and turned himself in. He confessed to having shot his son, claiming that he could not explain why he had done so. He has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection to his son's death, as per Law&Crime.

The cause of death has been ruled as a single gunshot wound to the heart and aorta, according to Dr. Vincent Tranchida, the Medical Examiner. John Shively has been released on bond and awaits trial.

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John Shively allegedly argued with his son over 25 cents

The fight between John Shively and Zachary was reportedly over 25 cents, which the victim continued to demand from his father even after he gave him the two dollars he had to spare at the time. As the fight escalated into a physical altercation, the victim allegedly hit John Shively on his arm and pushed him, which caused the latter to fall onto a chair.

As John attempted to go upstairs in order to avoid the fight, the victim did not allow him to do so and continued to assault him. The accused then grabbed a gun that belonged to his son, hoping that it would make the victim back off, as per Law&Crime. However, he ended up shooting his son to death.

As per The State Journal, the suspect said:

“I foolishly thought that with a gun right at him that he would just finally give me respite … I can’t tell you how much I regret that I picked it up.”

Right after the shooting, John Shively asked a fellow resident of the house to call the authorities and confessed to killing his son. Jacob Idlas, a public defender spoke about the case against John and said:

“It is clear from both the probable cause affidavit and an even clearer picture in the criminal complaint that self-defense will be a central issue in this case.”

The accused's bail was set at $300,000 after his other son testified in the hearing, asking for leniency in setting the bond amount. Having posted the amount, Shively was released on July 25, 2023, and is scheduled to appear in court on August 1, 2023.