Weldon's actions were premedidated, prosecutors say

UPDATE: Tonch Weldon's actions -- taking a shotgun and shooting Amy Gephart directly in the chest -- are proof of malice and premeditation, Assistant Attorney General Denise Timmins said in her closing argument Wednesday.

“When he told Amanda (his wife) ‘I want you to see this,' that's malice,” Timmins said. “When he told her ‘You can't have either one of us,' that's malice.”

Weldon, 39, of Blairstown, is accused of shooting Gephart, 35, once in the chest with a shotgun before turning it on himself June 7, 2009.

Timmins said Weldon knew his wife wanted to leave him for Gephart. She had talked about it for months, Timmins said. Weldon talked to his friends about their problems. His actions were not a sudden, irresistible passion, like the defense claimed, but were willful and deliberate, she said.

Dennis Cohen, Weldon's attorney, said in his closing this was a “crime of passion.” It's not first- or second-degree murder. The state hasn't met its burden of proof, Cohen said. There's no evidence that he walked into the room that day to shoot Gephart. There's better evidence that he was going to shoot himself.

“He threatened to do it (shoot himself) before,” Cohen said. “He had said numerous times he couldn't live without Amanda. It's more likely he was going to harm himself than someone else. There was no evidence how he was holding the gun when he walked in the room.”

Cohen said Weldon wasn't the type to take deliberate and premeditated actions. It was “violent passion” that overcame him. Weldon doesn't harbor hatred towards others, he said.

“He wouldn't have planned this in his home with his children present,” Cohen said.

The jury started deliberations about 12:40 p.m. Wednesday after a week-long trial in Iowa County District Court.

Amanda Weldon testified last week that her husband shot Gephart in front of her after she told him they were leaving him. They had an open marriage and Gephart lived with them and was their sexual partner but she and Gephart fell in love and planned to leave him.

Timmins said Amanda Weldon's testimony is proof beyond a reasonable doubt of what happened that day. There was firearm evidence and blood splatter evidence to verify her account of how it happened.

Timmins asked the jurors to consider the significance of Weldon using Amanda's gun -- a gun he bought her their first Christmas together. Weldon left the room and went into another room to retrieve the gun. He then aimed it at Gephart and shot her in the heart. That shows specific intent, she said.

Cohen said Weldon loved Gephart. There was no evidence he was jealous of her. He was having rings made for the three of them to wear as a symbol of their commitment.

Weldon had worked a 12-hour shift that day and then started drinking with some friends, Cohen said.  His blood alcohol level was between 0.17 and 0.23 at the time of the shooting. He also had taken Xanax with the alcohol, he said.

Cohen said the shooting happened within a 15-minute time frame, which was a short amount of time and not enough time to plan a shooting.

Cohen played the videotape of Weldon in the hospital after the shooting and he doesn't remember what happened. His mother tells him he shot Gephart and he starts shaking his head.

Weldon was shaking and crying in the courtroom while the video was playing.

Cohen said Weldon did a “terrible thing” shooting Gephart, but there is reasonable doubt for first- and second-degree murder. He asked the jury to consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

“His vulnerability was his wife and children,” Cohen said. “They were his breaking point.”

On rebuttal, Timmins told the jurors they should only consider intoxication regarding specific intent. None of the witnesses said Weldon was drunk that day. He could control his actions, she said.

“Tonch Weldon was shaking and crying throughout this trial, but you have to ask who is he crying for,” Timmins said. “He's crying for himself. He shot Gephart, then shot himself. He made that choice. He doesn't deserve your sympathy. Give it to Amy's parents or Amanda and her children.”

He committed first-degree murder and they shouldn't consider the lesser charges.

REPLAY: Wednesday's closing arguments

Tonch Weldon trial-July 20