ELKHORN – The trial for a former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestler accused of fatally shooting his champion gymnast girlfriend in 2024 has been delayed a second time.
Chad T. Richards, 24, of Whitewater, is now scheduled to be tried Nov. 30, the Monday after Thanksgiving.
An attorney representing Richards told Walworth County Circuit Judge Estee Scholtz during a May 29 hearing that the defense team needed more time to go over documents they received in discovery, online court records show.
Whitewater police arrested Richards in August 2024 in connection with the killing of Kara Welsh, a 21-year-old UW-Whitewater student and national gymnastics champion.
Joshua Hargrove, one of Richards’ lawyers, indicated in court the volume of discovery his team received in the case was large and might take time go through. He believed discovery to be about 1,500 printed pages and that an additional report included in the cache was “nearly three times that size,” online court records show.
Scholtz granted the extra time and scheduled a status hearing for July 13 to hear back from the attorneys on their progress.
A final pre-trial hearing is set for Nov. 20.
Jury selection would begin Nov. 30, followed immediately by opening statements from attorneys. The trial is expected to run two weeks, or through Dec. 11.
Welsh was 21 and entering her senior year at the university, when she was found dead Aug. 30, 2024, at an off-campus apartment building.
Richards, a member of the university’s wrestling team from 2020-22, quickly emerged as suspect and was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in her death.
A report by the Walworth County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Welsh had eight gunshot wounds.
The new trial timeline represents the second delay in the case. The trial originally was slated to get underway in December 2025.
Last summer, Scholtz pushed the trial back to June 8 to allow a crime lab to draft a report in the case and to conduct a peer review that would have taken weeks.
Detectives have promoted the theory, based on the evidence, the shooter stood over Welsh and fired as she was curled on the floor in a fetal position.
Richards has pleaded not guilty.
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trial for man charged with killing UW-Whitewater gymnast delayed again
Reporting by Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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