Phoenix – The Ashfork man is found guilty of manslaughter after confessing to killing a missing man and then moving to his property.
The ju judge discovered that 77-year-old Terry Welfenberg was guilty of manslaughter, abandoning or covering up a body, and tampering with physical evidence, according to a press release from Yabapai County Attorney.
How did Yabapai police find the ruins of a missing man near Ashfork?
Local Ashfolk Postmasters have turned Yabapai police over the fact that 65-year-old John McCabe’s emails had been piled up for over a year. This allows Yabapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) conducted a welfare check in April 2023 at McCabe’s home in the southwest area of ​​Ash Fork, known as Juniper Woods, and according to the release, Welfenburg remains at McCabe’s 30-acre facility.
When police questioned Wellpenberg, he claimed that McCabe had given him permission to stay on his property, and McCabe had been missing for over a year and had no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Yabapai police have recruited search and rescue volunteers to search for McCabe. Authorities say one of the volunteers happened to have an archaeological background, finding “a fragment of a human skull that is slightly smaller than a business card.”
YCSO has dug up the burn pit and found a burnt wallet with more human bones, a charred wallet with fragments of McCabe’s vehicle registration, and a medical bracelet containing information about McCabe. Due to the burnt bone condition, the DNA could not be retrieved. In other words, the cause of death cannot be determined.
The detective interrogates Welfenberg about the body and once again he tells the police he didn’t know where McCabe was before confessing that he was going to kill McCabe. According to the release, Welfenberg told police he did so in self-defense.
Welfenberg is scheduled to be sentenced March 24th and could face seven to 21 years in prison for manslaughter charges. He could be added to 5 years of prison for up to 1 per extra charge.
“Crimes like these will shock consciousness and will be prosecuted violently in Yabapai County. I hope that the statements imposed in this case will prevent you from committing shocking crimes like these.”
