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Rachel McFarland, a co-worker and alleged lover of Seth Techel, served as one of the primary witnesses to Lisa Techel's murder. Lisa Techel was married to Seth and carrying their baby when she was shot by her husband.
Seth Techel was pursuing a romantic affair with his co-worker Rachel McFarland and he promised Rachel that he would leave his wife for her. The two were supposedly in love and Seth was desperate to be with Rachel.
Why was Seth Techel convicted?
In July 2012, a jury in Davenport convicted Seth of murdering his wife and unborn child with a shotgun while his wife was asleep. However, Seth denied the charges laid against him by the prosecution and claimed he was in the shower when Lisa was shot and he found her dead. His defense team even claimed that Lisa was murdered by their mentally ill neighbor who had a long-running feud with Seth Techel. But the prosecution provided enough evidence that pointed otherwise.
Prosecutors claimed that Seth shot and killed his wife Lisa in her sleep in 2012, so that he could pursue his relationship with co-worker Rachel McFarland. He shot Lisa with a twelve-gauge shotgun, killing Lisa and their unborn daughter whom they had apparently already named.
Rachel McFarland's testification
On Wednesday, July 16, 2014, Rachel McFarland was brought into court to testify. She served as a prime witness in the murder case of Lisa Techel. McFarland used to work with Seth and claimed that she had fallen in love with him. They met at Job Corps where both of them used to work.
Seth told her he was getting a divorce from his wife so as to be with Rachel. She took to the stand and testified that Seth Techel was desperate to be with her. Although she claimed she fell in love, she was ready to move on to another man as Techel was married. But Seth had asked her for two more weeks to make their relationship work.
The jury even saw explicit text messages and emails exchanged between the two, right up till the day Lisa was found dead. The messages were s*xual in nature and also included pictures, and provided the court with enough evidence to count the affair as motivation for Seth to murder Lisa.
The previous two trials conducted with respect to the case ended with juries deadlocked and judges declaring mistrials. A third trial was then conducted in Davenport, where the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and non-consensual termination of human pregnancy. He received life sentence in prison.
Catch Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered to know all about the alleged affair between Rachel McFarland and Seth Techel that led to the murder of Seth's wife Lisa Techel. It will air on May 11, 2022.
