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The man who murdered his accomplice in 2022 near Ostrander and then tried to blow up his body with Tannerite has had his murder conviction upheld.
The Cowlitz County Prosecutor’s Office posted yesterday that the Washington Supreme Court denied review of the Court of Appeals’ decision affirming Jethro Welter’s first-degree murder conviction.
On July 15, 2022, Welter shot Alan Neilson at 2106 Holcomb Road. He then placed Neilson’s body next to Tannerite and shot it, attempting to detonate the remains.
After being caught, Welter pleaded guilty to several charges as part of a plea agreement. However, before being sentenced, he attempted to withdraw his guilty plea, a motion that was ultimately denied. He was sentenced to 46 years in prison for the murder.
More recently, Welter filed an appeal, arguing there was a miscalculation on his guilty plea form involving his other crimes, which he said should have allowed him to withdraw the plea.
The Court of Appeals held that because the miscalculation did not impact Welter’s punishment, the judge did not abuse their discretion in refusing to allow him to withdraw the plea. On March 4, the Washington Supreme Court denied Welter’s petition for review of that decision.
