By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

According to online court records, the trial for Chad T. Richards, who is charged with first degree intentional homicide in the shooting death of UW-Whitewater [UW-W] gymnast Kara Welsh, has been rescheduled to begin with jury selection on June 8, 2026. Richards was also a UW-W student and was in a relationship with Welsh. Previously the trial was scheduled to begin on December 15, 2025.

Based on the online record of the status conference which was held on August 19, it appears that a contributing factor to the delay may be the wait for processing of evidence by the state crime lab. District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld referred to “conversations with victim’s family and their frustrations with the crime lab and processing of evidence. Email received from the crime lab today stated that the lab portion of the analysis will be done today however the drafting of the report & the peer review will take a couple weeks to complete.”

According to the complaint, Richards, who was 23, and Welsh, age 21, got into an argument on the night of August 30, 2024. He claimed that Welsh grabbed a gun first and he took it away from her, then shot her because he feared for his life.

Richards faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. He continues to be in custody in the Walworth County Jail.

Previous articles related to this subject may be found here and here.