Dr. Shauna Witt.Photo: Facebook
A 44-year-old man accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend to death inside a Mississippi Walmart was sentenced to life in prison late last week, moments after being convicted of capital murder.
On Friday, after 26 minutes of deliberation, jurors found William Thomas “Tommy” Chisholm guilty of murdering Dr. Shauna Witt, an optometrist, reportsthe Commercial Dispatch, which covered the four-day trial.
Chisholm received his life sentence moments after the verdict was read.
At the time of her death, Witt operated an eye clinic at the Walmart in Starkville.
William Chisholm.Starkville Police Department/ Facebook
She was with a patient on Jan. 13, 2018 when Chisholm walked in. Witt demanded he leave, and Chisholm pulled out a gun, according to police.
The murder happened about a month after Witt had ended her relationship with Chisholm.
After the verdict, Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom said he was pleased with Friday’s results.
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“Moments like these are why we do our jobs — to hold people accountable for horrible decisions like this because we want to show people that’s not the kind of community we have here in Starkville,” Colom said.
He added: “When people bring that kind of violence to Starkville, we’re going to hold you accountable to the extent that we can.”
The Dispatchreports that Chisholm’s attorney said Friday he plans to file an appeal.
PEOPLE could not reach the family’s spokesman for comment.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
