Richard Earl Witcher Jr. of Gloucester, was sentenced to 18 years in prison Friday for the 2011 murder of Karen Kay Kelly. Witcher on Jan. 11 entered Alford pleas (admitting the evidence against him was sufficient for a conviction while not admitting his guilt) to second degree murder and using a firearm in its commission.
When she was killed, Kelly was living with Witcher’s uncle who was jailed for allegedly assaulting her. He was scheduled to be released the next day and Kelly was preparing to relocate to Northern Virginia prior to his returning home, according to testimony in Circuit Court of Gloucester. Her friend, Kathleen Hamilton, said she went to Kelly’s house on July 27 to pick up two turtles that she would be keeping for Kelly.
Instead, Hamilton discovered Kelly’s body and called police. “She was going to leave so she wouldn’t get hurt. She knew she was going to get killed,” Hamilton testified. Kelly had sustained a gunshot wound that entered her mouth and exited the back of her head. She had also been strangled.
Kelly’s mother, Beverly Kelly, also said her daughter was scared and was only still at the house because she was waiting for someone to take her pets. She said Witcher chose that day to kill her because he knew she was moving. “I request Ricky be shown the same leniency he showed my daughter,” she told the court.
Ashley Zeno, the victim’s daughter, said Witcher could not have been in a state of alcohol-induced blackout when he killed her mother as he claimed. She said he drove there and strangled her mother so hard that it broke her neck, shot her, then left to clean up.
“Your freedom of life should not be spared. You haven’t apologized. That shows how cold hearted you are. You’re a coward because you don’t take responsibility for what you’ve done,” Zeno said, addressing Witcher. “My mother’s last moments were shear terror.”
Gloucester Commonwealth’s Attorney Holly Smith said Witcher blamed Kelly for his uncle’s legal problems and had repeatedly made threats toward her. In jail awaiting trial, Smith said Witcher told other inmates that he “shot the bitch and broke her neck to get her out of the way” and bragged that he had made the top 10 news stories of 2011.
Smith said the state sentencing guidelines were “woefully inadequate” and asked that Witcher be sentenced to the maximum 40 years in prison for the murder. Prior to his sentencing, Witcher turned to address Kelly’s family. “I truly am sorry. I really hope that you all can forgive me,” he said.
Judge Robert W. Curran sentenced Witcher to 30 years in prison for the murder conviction, but suspended 15 years of that time. He also sentenced Witcher to three years for using the firearm to commit the murder, and ordered Witcher to pay $5,000 in restitution to the Virginia Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund.