MADISON (WKOW) -- The torture and murder of a Mazomanie man has become a heartbreaking nightmare for a good friend who hadn't seen him for years.
Richard Swangstu says he used to live with Matthew Graville in a Mount Horeb foster home with a loving family.
"I'll never live a day in my life not feeling guilty because I promised my foster parents I'd help protect him and I feel like I let that promise go through," Swangstu says. When he was about 16, Graville moved in under the same roof. The boys ended up sharing a room, both without their biological families.
"I'm a very private person, I kept to myself and Matt was always full of energy, full of life," he said. Graville had Asperger's Syndrome, a form of Autism.
"He couldn't understand when someone was or wasn't taking advantage of him, he was around me a lot," Swangstu says.
But after moving out of the Mount Horeb home, Swangstu says they lost touch. Years later, police say 27-year-old Graville was abused and tortured by his half-brother, 27-year-old Jeffrey Vogelsberg, before being killed. He was reported missing in September; family hadn't heard from him since June.
"I lost it...I lost it the moment I found out he went missing and I lost it the moment I found out he was dead," Swangstu said.
Vogelsberg remains in custody in Washington state and is awaiting extradition. He's expected to appear in court again in early December.
Twenty-eight-year-old Robert McCumber is accused of helping get rid of the body. Graville's stepmother, 49-year-old Laura Robar is charged with using his food stamps and bank account after his death.
