Kirksville Man Pleads Not Guilty in Wife’s Death

A Kirksville man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife.

The Kirksville Daily Express reports 41-year-old Danny Welte also pleaded not guilty Wednesday to armed criminal action. He's accused of killing his wife, Echo Welte, in November in the parking lot of the Kirksville Days Inn.

The shooting happened just hours after the two had buried their son, Danny Welte Jr., who died days earlier. The couple was in the midst of a divorce.

Welte fled the scene but was taken into custody outside the Kirksville Police Department about 90 minutes later.

He is currently being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.