Sentencing reset for Blairstown man convicted of murder

MARENGO - Sentencing for Tonch Weldon, convicted of first-degree murder last month, is reset to later this month.

Weldon, 39, of Blairstown, will be sentenced to mandatory life in prison, without parole, for shooting and killing Amy Gephart, 35, in his home June 7, 2009.

The sentencing originally set Aug. 15 will now be 1 p.m. Aug. 29 in Iowa County District Court.

Weldon shot Gephart in the heart with a 20-gauge shotgun before turning it on himself because his wife Amanda Weldon was leaving him for Gephart, according to trial testimony.

Amanda Weldon testified she and her husband had an open marriage and they were in a sexual relationship with Gephart, who lived with them, but the women fell in love with each other and decided to leave him.

The defense during trial argued it was a “crime of passion,” not a premeditated act. His attorney asked the jurors to consider voluntary manslaughter.

The jury deliberated almost five days following the week-long trial.