Slain University of Wisconsin gymnast Kara Welsh's boyfriend-turned-alleged murderer claimed he shot the title-winning athlete "because he feared for his life" during a domestic dispute.
Welsh, 21, was allegedly shot eight times by Chad Richards, a 23-year-old former college wrestler, in her off-campus apartment in Whitewater, Wisconsin, last Friday, according to court records, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Prosecutors charged him with first-degree intentional homicide and he is being held on $1 million bond. It's unclear if Richards entered a plea.
His defense attorney, Gibson Hatch, did not immediately respond to the Lawyer Herald's request for comment.
According to court documents, Richards called 911 following the deadly shooting. He allegedly told investigators he and Welsh got into an argument and she grabbed his gun. Richards alleged he wrestled the firearm out of her hands and pulled the trigger.
"The defendant stated that he shot (the victim) with the handgun because he feared for his life," the complaint read, according to the paper.
Crime scene evidence allegedly indicated Richards stood over Welsh's body and shot her, investigators said, WDJT-TV reported.
"She was the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally," Welsh's sister, Kaeli Welsh, said according to the Journal Sentinel. "She had so much more to give the world than gymnastics."
"It was an honor and a privilege to grow up around her."
Welsh was preparing for her senior year at the Whitewater campus where she was studying business and economics, the Lawyer Herald previously reported.
In 2023, she won a national gymnastics title on the vault.
