Charges filed in death of UW-Whitewater student; Loves Park man accused of first degree intentional homicide

    A former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestler has been charged in the shooting death of his alleged girlfriend.

    Chad T. Richards, 23, Whitewater, was officially charged Sept. 6 in Walworth County with first degree intention homicide by use of a dangerous weapon.

    The victim was 21-year-old Kara Welsh, a rising senior at the university who Richards stated was his girlfriend.

    Richards has been in Walworth County Jail since the shooting, and is being held on a $1 million cash bond. Should he meet the bond, there would be numerous restrictions on his release, including not consuming alcohol, possessing a firearm or any other weapon and no attempt to contact the victim’s family.

    He is also barred from the UW-Whitewater campus. According to online student records, Richards is not enrolled at the university.

    After his initial appearance, a preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.

    The criminal complaint filed appears to show an argument turned violent.

    According to the complaint, City of Whitewater police were dispatched to an apartment on W. Whitewater Street just before midnight on Aug. 30, after Richards called for help, saying a woman was dying.

    Officers entered the building and allegedly found Richards in the hall on the phone, “crying hysterically.” While he was escorted out of the building, police entered the apartment and found the victim on the floor in a pool of blood with gunshot wounds to her neck, shoulder, wrist and leg. She was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse.

    Another officer found multiple holes in the door to the bedroom, consistent with someone striking it, and a black handgun on the floor of the living room along with spent casings.

    After Richards was read his Miranda rights, he spoke with a detective at the City of Whitewater department. Richards allegedly told police that Welsh was his girlfriend and the two had gotten into an argument at her apartment.

    Richards allegedly told the detective he didn’t remember what the argument was about, but he had gotten angry enough to punch the door. Richards said that while the couple was in the bedroom, Welsh grabbed Richards’ handgun, and he wrestled it away from her.

    Richards also told police that he shot her because “he feared for his life.” He then called his father – and then called 911.

    An autopsy of Welsh through the Walworth County Medical Examiner’s Office showed that she had been shot eight times, including wounds to her neck, wrist, abdomen, thighs and lower back.

    After obtaining a search warrant, police went back to the apartment and recovered 11 spent shell casings. Another detective is on record saying that, based on his training and experience, the injuries to Welsh and the evidence at the scene were consistent with some of the shots occurring while the shooter was standing over the victim lying in the fetal position on the floor.

    Welsh, from Plainfield, Illinois, was majoring in management at the school’s College of Business and Economics. She was a member of UW-Whitewater’s gymnastics team, and had won a Division 3 vault title in 2023.

    Friends started a GoFundMe.com fundraiser for the Welsh family following the 21-year-old’s death. More than $50,000 has been raised.