Fri, Jul 04 2008
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Published May 19, 2008 10:49 pm - JACKSON, Mo. — Nineteen months after a southeast Missouri 13-year-old was charged as an adult with killing his neighbor, a judge on Monday granted a second change of venue in the case. Cape Girardeau County Judge William Syler agreed to move the case to St. Louis County. Welty, now 14, was originally charged in Stoddard County, the site of the crime, before the case was moved to Cape Girardeau County. Change of venue approved for boy accused in killing The Associated Press
JACKSON, Mo. — Nineteen months after a southeast Missouri 13-year-old was charged as an adult with killing his neighbor, a judge on Monday granted a second change of venue in the case. Cape Girardeau County Judge William Syler agreed to move the case to St. Louis County. Welty, now 14, was originally charged in Stoddard County, the site of the crime, before the case was moved to Cape Girardeau County. It wasn’t clear why the case was moved again, and a trial date has still not been set. Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn declined comment and would not say if he opposed the venue change. Defense attorney Jenna Glass declined comment. Welty’s parents said they could not comment because of a gag order. Welty is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 64-year-old Don McCollough of rural Bloomfield in November 2006. Welty has been behind bars since his arrest, even though some experts say he is schizophrenic and suffers from a depressive disorder with psychotic features. Those experts have said Welty hears demonic voices and hallucinates. Results of court-ordered psychiatric exams are part of the reason the case has been delayed. Welty would be one of the youngest people ever tried as an adult in a Missouri murder case. He could face up to life in prison if convicted, but because of his young age, would not be eligible for the death penalty. Welty appeared at Monday’s hearing dressed in orange jail-issued clothing, handcuffed. Now nearly 15, he is tall and pudgy with closely cropped hair. Prior to the proceedings he sat quietly, sometimes whispering to other inmates also awaiting court proceedings. His parents sat in the courtroom and nodded to him, but did not speak with him. Welty’s family lives on property next to McCollough’s. Authorities say Welty and his father were hunting in the woods behind the properties on Nov. 14, 2006. Welty told police others were also hunting in the area. Welty told authorities he heard a shot, then heard McCollough, who had been working on a shed, scream “ouch.” Welty said he alerted a neighbor, then went home and told his mother. But Dr. Michael Zaricor, who performed the autopsy on McCollough, said the fatal bullet pierced McCollough’s jaw, broke his dentures and severed his vocal chords and carotid artery, making it virtually impossible for him to say “ouch.” A detective with the Stoddard County Major Case Squad said he retrieved a rifle from the boy’s home with one spent shell, though the bullet fragment found on McCollough’s body could not be conclusively tied to Welty’s rifle. Police have also said a computer at the home contained two chat logs in which the boy mentioned the incident, but did not confess to the crime. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive. 
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