Change of venue granted for murder trial

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Stoddard County judge ruled Wednesday that a 14-year-old boy standing trial for first-degree murder will get a change of venue.

Circuit Judge Stephen R. Sharp granted a request by Owen Welty's attorney for a change of venue, sending the case to the Missouri Supreme Court for assignment of a new venue and a new judge.

Welty is charged with the Nov. 14 killing of his 64-year-old neighbor, Donald McCollough.

Though Welty was 13 years old at the time of the shooting, the state certified him as an adult and charged him with armed criminal action and first-degree murder.

His age will bar him from receiving the death penalty if he is convicted.

On Nov. 14, officers from the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department discovered McCollough's body behind his house just east of Bloomfield, Mo., according to the probable-cause statement signed by Hank Trout, commander of the Stoddard County Major Case Squad.

McCollough died of a single gunshot wound to the face.

The Stoddard County Major Case Squad investigated the shooting and determined through interviews with neighbors that the fatal shot was fired around 4:20 p.m. Police didn't receive the 911 call until after 8 p.m.

First, Welty told police he'd been nearby and heard McCollough working when the shot was fired. He stated to police that he heard the victim yell after the shot, but the autopsy revealed McCollough's vocal cords were severed by the bullet and he could not have made a sound, the statement said.

Later, Welty admitted to having fired his gun around 4:20 p.m. and might have accidentally shot McCollough, according to the statement.

The Associated Press reported that experts have declared Welty to be schizophrenic and that he suffers from a depressive disorder that causes him to hear demonic voices.

Welty is being held at the Stoddard County Jail on $250,000 cash-only bond.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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