Yabapai County News – Yabapai County Attorney Dennis McGlen said on February 13, 2025 that Yabapai County ju judges said that Terry Welfenberg, 77, of Ashfork, Arizona, was charged with manslaughter, abandoning or cover-up of a body; It has announced that it has tampered with physical evidence. McGrand County Attorney praised the Ashfork postmaster for warning authorities on McCabe’s loss beaults and praised the Yabapay County Sheriff’s Office for his excellent investigation. McGlen County Attorney thanked the ju judge for his careful attention to the facts and praised prosecutors Matthew Polk and Casey Martin for their efforts to prepare for the trial.

County Attorney Dennis McGrand said, “Crimes like these will shock you with consciousness and will be prosecuted violently in Yabapai County. The sentences imposed in this case are something that someone else can be shocking like these. I hope it discourages you from committing a crime.”

The investigation began when the postmaster of Ashfork Post Office reported to the sheriff’s office that the victim, John McCabe, 65, had not received mail for more than a year. In April 2023, YCSO lawmakers conducted welfare checks on the victim’s property in the Juniper Woods area southwest of Ashfork and discovered Welfenburg lives in a 30-acre lot of the victims. . Welfenberg told deputies that the victim had allowed him to live in Lott, but repeatedly denied him after learning where the victim was. Welfenberg said the victim disappeared more than a year ago.

YCSO Search and Rescue volunteers scrutinised the victim’s lot for his indications. One volunteer with previous archaeological experience noticed a human skull that was slightly smaller than the business card in the burn pit next to the Welfenburg trailer. YCSO unearthed the burn pit and found an additional piece of human bone, a burning wallet with the victim’s vehicle registration still inside, and a metal medical warning bracelet containing information about the victim. The bones were burning so badly that the DNA could not be restored and the cause of death could not be determined.

YCSO detectives confront Welfenberg about finding the victim’s body in his burn pit. Welfenberg again first denied knowing where the victim was before finally admitting to killing him. Welfenberg claimed he killed the victim in self-defense and then burned the victim’s body in the burn pit.

The verdict is scheduled for March 24, 2025 at 2:30pm. In front of honorable Debra R. Phelan of Yabapai County Superior Court. Welfenberg faces a prison range of 7-21 years at Arizona’s Department of Manslaughter Corrections, with up to 1.5 years in prison for each other offence.