The Illinois man accused of killing Plainfield native Kara Welsh is believed to have shot the national title-winning University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnast eight times after the couple got into an argument inside his apartment, according to a criminal complaint made public Friday.
Chad Richards, 23, told detectives that Welsh was his girlfriend and that he got “so mad that he punched the door,” although he couldn’t remember what the argument was about, the complaint said. Richards, who was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and use of a dangerous weapon, made a brief appearance via video Friday at the Walworth County Courthouse.
Whitewater police found Welsh dead inside an apartment at 147 W. Whitewater St. with multiple gunshot wounds just before midnight last Friday night. Richards — of Loves Park, Illinois, just northeast of Rockford — called police, according to the complaint, saying Welsh was dying. When officers went into the apartment building, they saw Richards in the hallway “crying hysterically” on his phone.
Inside the apartment, officers found Welsh lying in a pool of blood with her arms folded across her chest as if she were holding her stomach, the complaint said. She didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing. One detective believed, based on Welsh’s injuries, that Richards shot her while she was in the fetal position and he was standing over her.
An autopsy later conducted by the Walworth County medical examiner’s office showed that she was shot eight times, with gunshot wounds on her neck and torso.
Richards told detectives he got into a heated argument with Welsh in his bedroom that night, where he punched the door, the complaint said. He said Welsh grabbed his handgun out of the nightstand and that he wrestled the gun away from her. Telling detectives he “feared for his life,” he then shot Welsh before calling his father and 911.
Detectives observed that Richards’ right hand had cuts and skin missing from his knuckles, according to the complaint. Officers also found a black handgun on the living room floor, near the bedroom door, and 11 spent shell casings throughout the apartment.
Richards is being held at the Walworth County Jail on a $1 million bond. A UW-Whitewater student, Richards is listed on a university roster as being part of the wrestling team during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. It also says he attended Harlem High School in Machesney Park, Illinois. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28.
Welsh’s family attended the hearing on Friday but declined to comment when the judge offered the opportunity.
Meanwhile, her loved ones have worked to honor the 21-year-old gymnast, remembered as a “dedicated and supportive teammate” with a “big personality.” Throughout the week, the UW-Whitewater campus hosted a vigil, and a flag was flown at half-staff on the first day of classes.
Welsh was a national champion and two-time All-American gymnast, known as a “phenom on the vault” with four of the school’s top eight scores, according to a university statement. She was entering her senior year, majoring in business management.
“A powerful athlete, dedicated teammate and the light in everyone’s dark days, Kara truly lifted each and every one of us up in her time as a Warhawk gymnast,” gymnastics coach Jen Regan said. “There are no words to describe the void we all feel in our hearts, but Kara’s legacy will live on through Warhawk gymnastics forever.”
Kaeli Welsh called her sister the “light of my life,” at a court hearing Tuesday, saying she was “the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally” and had “so much more to give the world than gymnastics,” as reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A GoFundMe fundraiser organized by family friends has raised more than $48,000 as of Friday afternoon to support the Welsh family.
The Tribune’s Adriana Pérez contributed reporting.
