Trial for Chehalis shooting death of Sara Whitson to begin Monday

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Chehalis National Guardsman who said he accidentally shot his girlfriend while cleaning a gun is set to go to trial next week in Lewis County Superior Court.

Jesse P. Karr, now 31, is charged with first-degree manslaughter in the September 2009 death of Sara M. Whitson.

The trial begins Monday and attorneys estimate it could last up to five days.

Police and aid responded about 4 p.m. on Sept. 3, 2009 to a report of an accidental shooting on the 1700 block of South Market Boulevard at the Chehalis apartment the two shared.

Whitson was on the floor in the main bedroom with a small towel covering her abdomen and appeared unresponsive, according to charging documents.

Karr had been shot in the pinky; he told police he went to clear a round and when he let go of the slide, the gun went off in his hand, charging documents say. She was reportedly about five feet away.

Karr, who had just returned from Iraq about a month earlier, told officers he had offered to clean Whitson’s .22 caliber Walther Smith and Wesson pistol, and she told him it was loaded.

A Chehalis police detective learned the following morning Whitson had died during emergency surgery, of a gunshot to her abdomen, according to charging documents.

Centralia defense attorney Don McConnell is representing Karr. Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes is handling the case.

Charges were filed a year ago. Karr has pleaded not guilty.

First-degree manslaughter means recklessly causing the death of another. The offense has a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Because the case involves McConnell – the newly elected prosecutor’s former law partner – Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer arranged for Hayes to communicate about the case not with him, but with Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher, according to documents filed in early January.

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