Till Death Do Us Part: The Chilling Betrayal That Ended Lisa Techel’s Life
Twenty-three-year-old Lisa Techel was living the dream—married to her high school sweetheart, expecting their first child, and building a future filled with love and promise. But on the morning of May 26, 2012, that dream was shattered when she was found shot to death in her bed. Her husband, Seth Techel, claimed a deranged neighbor was to blame. What followed was an investigation riddled with shocking revelations, forbidden affairs, and three trials before justice was finally served.
A Picture-Perfect Love—Or Was It?
Lisa Caldwell and Seth Techel had been inseparable since high school. After seven years together, they tied the knot in October 2011 and settled into a trailer home in rural Iowa, where they prepared to welcome their baby girl, Zoey Maria. Both had promising careers in law enforcement—Lisa as a jailer and Seth as a volunteer firefighter with plans to follow in her footsteps.
Lisa’s father, Todd Caldwell, a sheriff’s deputy, saw them as the perfect couple. “You have the all-American boy and all-American girl, and they’re having a baby. You just think nothing bad could ever happen,” he once said.
But behind the scenes, a dark secret was festering.
The Murder That Shook a Town
On that fateful morning, Seth claimed he was in the shower when he heard a gunshot. Emerging from the bathroom, he found the door ajar and Lisa unresponsive—shot in the upper left side. A frantic 911 call was placed at 5:23 a.m., but it was too late. Lisa and her unborn child were gone.
Investigators found no signs of forced entry. The guns Seth kept in the house were all accounted for. He insisted there were no marital problems and pointed a finger at their neighbor, Brian Tate, describing him as a “crazy Vietnam vet” who had harbored resentment over a property dispute.
A Convenient Scapegoat
Brian Tate, a 57-year-old veteran suffering from PTSD and schizophrenia, lived next door with his family. He and Seth had argued weeks before over trash and a deer hide dumped onto his property. Tate had even complained to the sheriff’s office—where Lisa’s father worked.
But when questioned, Tate had a rock-solid alibi. His mother and brother both confirmed he was asleep at the time of the shooting. Investigators quickly ruled him out. If Tate wasn’t the killer, who was?
A Double Life Exposed
Less than 12 hours after Lisa’s death, a bombshell dropped—Seth was having an affair with a coworker, Rachel McFarland.
When confronted, Seth’s composed facade began to crack. Investigators discovered a secret phone filled with explicit texts and intimate photos exchanged with Rachel. One message stood out—Rachel had demanded he leave Lisa, and Seth had replied, “Just give me two weeks.”
The countdown to murder had begun.
The Smoking Gun
A missing piece of the puzzle emerged when a former roommate revealed he had left a shotgun—a Mossberg 500—behind in the trailer months earlier. Strangely, this gun was missing from the list Seth gave investigators.
The next day, officers combed through the property again. This time, they found the missing Mossberg 500 in the tall grass—nowhere near Tate’s house, but suspiciously close to where Seth could have ditched it.
Forensic analysis confirmed Lisa had been killed with a Mossberg shotgun. None of Tate’s firearms matched. The evidence was damning.
Justice Delayed, But Not Denied
Seth Techel was arrested at Lisa’s wake and charged with first-degree murder and the nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy. But the road to justice was long and winding.
His first trial in 2013 ended in a hung jury—11 votes for conviction, one holdout. A second trial later that year had the same fate, with a 9-3 split. In the meantime, Brian Tate died unexpectedly, his reputation forever tainted by Seth’s false accusations.
By the third trial in 2014, the prosecution had streamlined their case, exposing Seth’s lies and inconsistencies. This time, the jury didn’t hesitate. Seth Techel was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A Family Shattered
For Lisa’s parents, justice came at a heavy price. “I wonder what she would have been like as a mom. Whether her daughter would have been stubborn like her. All of those things. If only,” her mother, Tracy Caldwell, said.
Meanwhile, Tate’s family mourned his reputation as much as his life. His sister insisted, “Brian was a very loving person. Yes, he was mentally ill, but like he told his doctors, ‘Just because I’m mentally ill doesn’t mean I’m a murderer.’”
And as for Seth—once a golden boy with a bright future—he now sits behind bars, serving a life sentence for the ultimate betrayal.
Lisa Techel believed she was building a future with the man she loved. Instead, she became the victim of his darkest deception. And in the end, the truth couldn’t stay buried forever.
