Man Kills His Girlfriend’s Son Over Stolen Reptiles

"Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go!" On a typically quiet residential street in Wapaka, Wisconsin, the calm is shattered, first by shouting, and then the blast of a shotgun. A nearby doorbell camera captures the entire thing. The shooter came here to meet someone, but he isn't here to talk. His name is William Wild Bill Zelensky, a former cop who now spends his life trading venomous snakes and rare animals. He believes the teenager, 18-year-old Riley Menente, crumpled on the ground in front of him stole nearly $30,000 worth of his prized reptiles. Standing next to Wild Bill is his girlfriend Tiffany Powell, and the person he just shot, it's her son. Before the shooting, before the stolen reptiles, there was just William Wild Bill Zelensky. He's not exactly famous, but inside a niche world like the Midwest reptile scene, he's someone. He trades venomous snakes and rare lizards worth thousands. He films videos with them. And he talks like a guy who's been around danger his whole life. He lives with Tiffany Powell and her kids, her son, 18-year-old Riley, is loud, impulsive and not especially deferential to the man dating his mom. One week before the shooting, Bill calls 911 and says his home has been burglarized. He tells Dispatch that firearms, alcohol, and his most valuable reptiles were stolen. Animals he claims are worth upwards of $30,000. He names suspects immediately, Riley and his teenage friend. From that night. And then we went and confronted him and he said, "No, I don't know anything about it." But then he asked, "Hey, where is this? I actually think he'd let's go to his parent's house." Yeah. And he would refuse to take us out there. Okay. So he said, "One of them lives out by why we get by how we tend somewhere." Yeah. And the other mom maybe. And then the father lives somewhere in Appleton. And we found out they were in Appleton and lost up there. So we don't know where they stashed the animals. Sure. But Camel Menthal's none of them smoke Camel Menthal's in their house. I smoke Camel Menthal's. We saw empty Camel Menthal pack in their ass tray. Okay. So when they went through my glove box, I think they grabbed a pack of my cigarettes. Sure. I mean, that's not evidence, but it is. Yeah. Police open a case. Bill opens something else. Vengeance. He calls around. He starts digging. He tells people he knows exactly who did it. Riley instead of waiting for officers to recover the stolen reptiles, Bill decides he's going to get them back himself. He and Tiffany gather weapons. A shotgun. Another long gun. Amunition. Later, investigators will catalog a hammer. Nights. Even a pair of handcuffs in the car. None of that shows up in reports until after the shooting. But in hindsight, the preparation is undeniable. At about 10 o'clock at night, they turn down Van Street. A quiet residential block. Doorbell cameras will later confirm the timing. Their headlights pick up a lone figure walking. It's Riley, Menente Powell. Bill stops the car and steps out. Shotgun in hand. The door remains open. Engine running as the confrontation escalates instantly. Tiffany, Riley's mom, steps out too. And at one point, the doorbell footage appears to show her holding the rifle. Hold on to yourself. Riley removes his shirt. Investigators will note this detail again later. He shouts at Bill, challenging him to fight without the gun. There's no visible attempt to leave. No sign anyone is afraid enough to withdraw. Seconds later, the report of a gunshot. The neighbor who hears it looks outside and sees a body lying face down behind the car. It's Riley, Tiffany's son. Bill and Tiffany, though, are back in the front seat of the vehicle, not touching him or checking for a pulse. Officers arrive quickly and secure the area. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Paramedics kneel over the teenager in the street, but there's nothing they can do. Once the scene on Van Street is secured and the evidence is under control, investigators begin gathering statements. With an hours of the shooting, William Wildbill-Zalenski is transported back to the station for questioning. He's just been involved in a fatal shooting, but as the interview begins in the early morning hours, his focus is not on the teenager, now receiving emergency care. Instead, his first questions are practical. That mindset, concerned for his own predicament before the victim's well-being, is immediately logged. It contrasts with the expected urgency of the shooter were truly in fear of a life-threatening attack moments earlier. When probed about the confrontation, Bill tries to frame himself as reluctant, even protective. "I just hope Riley's okay. I don't know if there's a way to find out if he's going to be okay. I really worry about him. No, I know, but man, I don't want to do anything to hurt him." As the questioning continues, Bill starts to talk to police officers about his law enforcement background, insisting that what he did is what he was trained to do as a police officer. "I still like to cooperate with you, but if that's the war, it's your first to be in attention. On the side, you know, self-defence. That's blows my mind. I mean, I'm a former police officer. I follow my training routine to defend yourself, keep stuck with me." But investigators are already comparing these explanations against what they have seen on camera, and what they now know about the shot. Close range, no scuffle, no attempt to withdraw. Bill then shifts the focus to his stolen reptiles, as if the context explains the escalation. "I know there's some reptiles and stuff taken, but that led to stuff today, correct? Did someone notify you?" "I mean, we just, I actually spent the last couple days telling out the paperwork. I'm sorry I can't remember the officer's name." "That's okay, I'll go back in the past." "I was told this year's department was looking at it, and I'm sort of responding to the dead information since the live animals were taken from them." "And I know you like your animals." "Yeah, and I don't want to die." "To detect if this demonstrates motive, not justification, it shows the weight bill places on the missing reptiles, and how personally he viewed the theft." In custody, Bill reacts to the homicide charge, not with disbelief about a death, but shocked that his actions might be legally defined as murder. "I didn't know if I didn't need this stuff to happen. I didn't know this was worse. It was bad enough now it's worse. I can't help anybody from here." While Bill offers a controlled narrative, referencing training and self-defense, Tiffany Powell's interview is the opposite, shifting, uncertain, and gradually aligning with forensic reality. "I'm just going to open this up while I was seating here. Thanks for coming down. You haven't seen anywhere in here." In her first recorded statement, she supports Bill's account of why they were looking for Riley in the first place. "If you can't go back further in the day for me, like how did we get to the point that Riley and Bill got to the confrontation." This explains suspicion, not fear. It's a property dispute, not a threat to life. When discussing the confrontation, Tiffany describes Riley becoming physically aggressive. He wouldn't have made too much. Okay, so he was denied at the whole time. Everyone said that we were on a way to recover from his friend's house. He jumped to nine. Okay, it was Riley the only one there. So it's just you, Bill, and Riley. Yeah. Okay. Do you recall about what time this was? I'm like 10 maybe. Okay. So, going back to the verbal argument, how did things kind of transpire? Like, you said that Riley threw off his jacket? So, what do you recall, like, what else happened? And Riley started coming out of bed like he was going to tap him. I thought that he would tease him when I got his child, I don't know. So, he said, coming out, I'm like, what was he doing? Cannot. Lentest finger. Did you see Riley try to do that? No. Okay, and what did Bill do in reaction? So, he didn't try to fight it, you know, blocked any of the swings or anything like that. You didn't see anything. Nothing in her description meets the threshold required for lawful armed self-defense. As questioning continues, Tiffany struggles with specifics. Where exactly was she standing? How long did the argument last? And what movements occurred before the shot? Where were you standing in relation to, like, the vehicle and Riley and Bill? As this was all going down. Do you recall? Behind the car. Behind the car. Okay. So, if this is the car. So, you were behind the car. If this is the front. Where were Bill and Riley? In the same. So, they're on the driver's side of the car. Are you not for them? I'm not sure. Okay. So, how much time would you say had a lapse from the time that you guys stopped there to the time? They stopped there to the time that Bill shot it, Riley. I'm having a lot. Like, 15 seconds? Maybe, like, a few minutes. Okay. So, you were there a little bit arguing back and forth. You don't remember any particular words that were said. Okay. I said, you're right. I was good. You know, that's what I remember. That's one thing that sticks to you. These inconsistencies aren't viewed as deception at first, but the interview environment changes once investigators review the doorbell video and can see the confrontation unfold more clearly than Tiffany has described. When detectives confront her about the fact that she was holding the gun, her certainty disappears altogether. He didn't ever make any comments that he wanted to hurt Riley. That's why he took the gun or anything. Okay. So, you don't know if the gun was loaded the whole time. You never saw him load it. Okay. So, there's a lot of things I'm going to be honest with you Tiffany. There's a lot of things that aren't adding up with what you're telling me. We have surveillance videos. So, I need to be honest with you. Did Bill hand you anything at any time? How do you want, I don't remember. Do you remember holding the firearm? No. Yeah, hold it on your socks. Do you want-- [bleep] [bleep] Were you or are you under the influence of any drugs or alcohol? No. Because the video is telling me otherwise. What would you say if I watched that video and I saw Bill tell you specifically to hold the gun on your socks? I have a video of you holding that gun pointing it right at him. I might have the gun, I don't know. Well, you might have or you did. I don't know. I just do remember there was a lot of yelling on the screen. I think you would remember if you were holding a firearm and pointing it at your own son though. There's just a lot of yelling on your screen. So what did Riley do when he ran towards the vehicle? What happened after that? Had Bill ever threatened Riley's life previously? What if I told you I'd been told otherwise? He never heard Bill say anything, "Drogatory." There was a gun, I don't even know. So, once Bill had shot Riley, what were your Bill's reactions like? What did you do? I used to want to catch him because I didn't know him at all. Okay. Do you remember where you went? Where you moved to? Where you were standing? Hey, what did I call him? Okay. Were you in the car out of the car? I don't think I was in the car. Okay. You weren't in the car? Okay. While the teenager lied gravely wounded, there was no attempt to provide assistance. Investigators also asked about the presence of the shotgun. Why would Bill grab a shotgun from his shop if he's just going to pick up the animals? He didn't say anything, why he was grabbing it? I just thought he grabbed it, so no one went and stole it. He got it before, before he heard about it. So he'd already put it in the car before he heard where the animals were located? What was his intentions on doing that if he didn't know where the animals were? He always drew the gun I don't know. He always carried a gun, but he didn't have one from the town. Right. Okay. Because all the other ones were still out of his car. So he always had guns in the car? Yeah. Okay. Did he have any other handguns that you'd seen besides the ones that were taken? Had you ever seen the shotgun before? Yeah. You had? Where else had you seen it? Since his handguns were taken as they came. So it was in the car routinely or? Yeah. This directly undermines any claim of an impulsive reaction in the moment. As the interview goes on Tiffany is confronted with more contradictions. Her proximity to the weapon, the recorded instructions from Bill, and the footage showing control shifting between them. So when you left there, there was no intentions. Bill had never said anything about Riley. He never said anything about confronting him, looking for him, talking to him. Did he try to contact him again? No. You don't remember him getting highly agitated or anything that may have stuck out as to why all of a sudden now he goes from going to pick up his animals to want in a fight Riley. Okay. All right. So as I mentioned in the video, you're clearly seeing holding a firearm. You're saying you don't recall that? You don't remember pointing a firearm at your own son? No, you don't remember Bill's idea? And you are a convicted felon, correct? Yeah. Okay. So you understand you can't be in possession of a firearm. So here's a situation you can be placed under arrest today for possession of a felon, possession of a firearm or probation hold. Tiffany barely reacts. She just sits there trying to process the words. Back at the scene on Van Street, officers begin documenting everything and anything that would be important for a case, the position of the body, the location of the vehicle, the angle of the street light overhead. Bill already said that he was acting in self-defense, that he felt threatened. But in homicide work, statements come second. What comes first is evidence and evidence doesn't lie. They've recovered the shotgun from inside the car, another long gun, ammunition, lined and ready. Weapons that certainly don't square with the idea of a conversation going bad. Nives, restraints, a hammer, tools that suggest planning, not panic. Investigators also document what didn't happen. No attempt to render first aid. No call for help until after the shooter feels safe in his car. And no signs the teenager ever wielded a weapon. She didn't go help him, she didn't do anything, and they were just so calm. Who's they? Bill and her. Bill said, "I shot him, he came at me, so I f***ing shot him." Did you hear him say that? Yeah, he told me. Who told you? I heard the gun shot. So I went out there, they came over prior. Bill and Tiffany came over to my house. I was pulling in and they pulled in and I was like, "What the hell do they want?" And they were saying that Riley had wrapped Bill and that Bill had got a phone call stating that he was supposed to go to the police station to talk with them. And then they said, "Well, we'll stop back when we're done." So, like 25 minutes went by and we're sitting here and I heard the gun shot. And so I looked out that little window and I see their car and they were both sitting in it when I see them. Just sitting in the car and I seem like this big look behind the car and I was like oh my god did they hit I thought that they had a pedestrian so I went out there more and team I was sitting like that and I was like really okay okay and it wasn't moving and they were just standing there you said you saw him standing outside the gum you said they're sitting in the car they were sitting in the car and I was looking out the window so that was that was that was before the shot it was after the shot okay so I think maybe he got back in the car I don't know maybe they thought they were going to take off or something because they were sitting in the car and they looked out the window that's why I thought maybe they glued tire but then why is that garbage bat what is behind the car so I went out there and I was like hey guys we know what the after you do what you know what the hell happened Riley was like this and then I was just blood gush you know and he was responding of course and moving and she just stood there and he was real calm and then he got arrested and she just was kind of like standing there and I'm like do you need to go to the hospital you need you know you need to see how he's doing so then she got a ride apparently and bailed out of here these are the kinds of details that shift a narrative from I fear for my life to I wanted retribution meanwhile the other half of the case is unfolding elsewhere the stolen reptiles the spark that lit the fire are located within a day of the shooting investigators tracked the stolen reptiles to a small house outside Wapaka the home of a friend connected to Riley the animals were found alive in the basement kept in makeshift terrariums and plastic tubs the stolen property cases now closed but by the time those reptiles were carried out of that basement the investigation had already shifted from theft to homicide William Wildbill Zelensky is charged with first degree intentional homicide for the shooting death of 18-year-old Riley Menente Powell Tiffany Powell also faced charges of first degree intentional homicide as party to a crime along with felon in possession of a firearm and before they face a judge the case file expands again not with new evidence but with recorded jail calls I don't know if there's B.D. trials or murder but I everyone's entitled to a B.D. trial I want a B.D. trial right I just don't like to do so I have nothing to do with my son's part I mean I was there but I know I just I don't want to hear you say those words for justice it hurts my heart I mean yeah it made horrible decisions in there the worst consequences in the world because of it but it was you had no intent I'm just trusted in God that's what's gonna work out there's all I thought anyway I raised Riley wrong I f***ed up it gave us that change from mortality and I swear I tried to squash it from up but no across the prison system another recording captures William Zelensky on the line from the Wood County jail hello this is a free call from the answer please an innate act would it down to jail so anyway so would you all find out oh yeah Tiffany Rose's mom does not want you to write to Tiffany Rose at all why I think she's just very mad at you and wishes there was the electric chair yet or she wants to be fried for doing it yeah from the start prosecutors treated the two defendants very differently before trial Tiffany was offered a plea agreement which she accepted admitting guilt to first agree recklessly endangering safety and felon in possession of a firearm she receives 15 years in prison and eight years of extended supervision but Wild Bill wouldn't be taking a plea he wants his day in court and he gets it but it doesn't turn out in his favor after five days of testimony Wild Bill is found guilty of first degree intentional homicide at his sentencing the courtroom is silent when Riley's paternal grandmother stands to deliver her victim impact statement her voice carries the blunt edge of anger that's been waiting three years for release I love Riley very much he was the light of my life we laughed all the time he will be very miss wild Bill took and killed him he chose to shoot my grandson please your honor this man needs to be in prison behind bars before he kills again I hope he wrought some prison for this case your honor he chose to load a shotgun he chose to point the shotgun at my grandson with no care of human life he had enough weapons in his car to fill this courtroom if he was so afraid of an unarmed teenager I can't wait till he meets the inmates in murderous I hope he is very afraid when she finishes the room exhales and then another voice rises just as devastating even as a young child he was smart beyond his years unexpectedly witty loving and mischievous he filled the room with laughter and sunshine her statement runs long a portrait of who Riley was and who he might have become he was generous and funny and he had the biggest most forgiving heart a person could have he was troubled and struggling from a chaotic and dysfunctional upbringing his mother struggled with mental health and behavioral issues since childhood Riley was so much more than he has been portrayed during this trial he was 17 years old he got up at six o'clock in the morning worked hard all day came home and played with his son fed him put him to bed visited with his girlfriend and played video games he was living a respectable blue collar life and he was so proud of his accomplishments I don't even have to close my eyes to see her stance as she pulled up the gun on his command I can't erase the image of my grandson's kneeling body crumbled on the ground I see it now what time do I have left I'm trapped in the 10 to 15 seconds he took him to die she ends with a plea to the judge one that folds anger grief and exhaustion into a single request it seems only just that the man who took my grandson's life should pay with the length of his own he showed my Riley no mercy I ask that you allow justice to return the favor with a life sentence and no possibility of parole thank you when the court invites the defendant to speak wild bill doesn't turn down the opportunity I never intended for anything like this to happen I certainly never wanted to shoot Riley and I definitely didn't want him to die I'm very sorry judge Raymond Huber was unmoved after the shooting though his actions also caused this court concern you didn't go and check in Riley didn't go see if he should render any aid he stood away he claimed some apparently wanted to be sure he wasn't going to jump up at him yeah I have a hard time believing that after you knew the shot got discharged and Riley had slumped over obviously and he he put on a rendered any aid that would have changed the circumstances but the fact that he didn't go and at least check on what was for lack of a better word his stepson uh causes this court concern it shows that disconnect in his thought processes and a few minutes later the ruling is final life in prison with eligibility for extended supervision after 35 years Riley's death changed everything and solved nothing a teenage boy is gone two families destroyed and the fight that started at all a handful of stolen reptiles was never worth the cost for long crime investigates I'm Kristen Thorn