Lombard pleads not guilty

WAUPACA - A Washington County man charged with killing his girlfriend in a New London hotel more than a year ago has pleaded not guilty.

Kevin Lombard, 24, was charged with one count each of first-degree reckless homicide and strangulation and suffocation. Lombard's girlfriend, Amelia Schmitz, died Aug. 12, 2011.

In court Thursday, Lombard waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

According to a criminal complaint, Lombard told investigators he and Schmitz had stopped at the hotel on the way to his grandparents' home in Eagle River. While in the hotel, Lombard told Schmitz he had slept with his child's mother as well as another ex-girlfriend. Schmitz became upset and, Lombard said, began screaming and scratching him. Lombard said he tried to quiet her and restrain her by putting her in a headlock. They then fell off the bed and she became limp. Lombard said he called his mother twice, then called 911.

Lombard is due back in court Nov. 1.