Attorney says shooting was accidental in Tate murder trial

CLINTON, Iowa â€" The attorney for a Clinton man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend in  December told jurors Tuesday that it was an accident.

Jason D. Tate, 32, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm as a felon in the death of Kelsey Sue Stahl, 24, who was found dead Dec. 21 in the apartment she shared with Tate.

During opening statements, Tate’s attorney, Eric Puryear, said Tate was showing Stahl a gun he had found when the gun went off accidentally.

“Mr. Tate did not properly handle a firearm, and as a result, tragedy ensued,” Puryear told the jury.

Assistant Iowa Attorney General Douglas Hammerand told jurors during his opening statement that while Tate told an ex-girlfriend after the shooting that it was an accident, his actions afterward prove it wasn’t.

Hammerand said Tate dragged Stahl’s body from the bedroom of the apartment to the hallway, intending to put it in the garbage before he determined she was too heavy.

Also, Hammerand said, Tate changed out of a pair of pants that had Stahl’s blood on them before taking her car and driving to Rockford, Ill., where he spent the night with a woman who was his ex-girlfriend and the mother of one of his children.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Hammerand said.

Hammerand also told jurors there were signs of possible violence in the relationship between Tate and Stahl. He said one witness at a party heard Tate threaten to choke Stahl, and one of Stahl’s co-workers saw bruises on her neck that looked as if they could have been caused by choking.

Puryear said Stahl explained that the bruises actually were a hickey.

Hammerand said Tate’s ex-girlfriend, Neelie Wallace, called Crime Stoppers after she became suspicious about Tate’s behavior when he showed up at her house in Rockford on Dec. 19. Hammerand said she told police Tate had a shell casing in his possession and she saw what appeared to be blood on his clothing.

Puryear called into question Wallace’s credibility, telling jurors that Tate called the Department of Human Services because of concerns about how she was raising their son, Jason Tate II, known as “J2”

Puryear attributed Tate’s actions after the shooting to panic, saying Tate knew he was a convicted felon. He said the shooting accident was something that would haunt Tate forever.

He also said Tate had no reason to kill Stahl, rejecting a suggestion by Hammerand that Tate and Stahl were having trouble in their relationship.

Hammerand told jurors forensic testing proves a .38-caliber revolver that was found outside Stahl’s apartment building by a maintenance worker in March was the gun that killed Kelsey Stahl.

The trial is expected to last five to seven days. If convicted, Tate faces a sentence of life in prison without parole.