KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) – A northeast Missouri man has been convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife in a hotel parking lot hours after the funeral of their son.Danny Welte was found guilty Wednesday of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of his wife, Echo Welte, at a Kirksville Days Inn on Nov. 17, 2016.
The Weltes were divorcing when their son, Danny Welte Jr., committed suicide. Witnesses testified that hours after his funeral, Danny Welte came to the hotel and stopped in the parking lot near his wife, The Kirksville Daily Express reported.
The Weltes argued for several hours inside her vehicle before a bystander saw the vehicle’s lights flashing and ran to the car, according to evidence.
James Dykes said he pulled Danny Welte away from his wife and was trying to get her back into the hotel when her husband ran past him and shot her in the back of the head.
Evidence indicated Welte’s gun jammed four times before he was able to run toward his wife and shoot her.
Danny Welte fled the scene but was arrested hours later.
Welte’s defense team called no witnesses and provided no new evidence Wednesday.
Sentencing is set for May 4.
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