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Fatal Longview shooting ruled self defense

Thursday, July 3, 2008 10:55 PM PDT

By Barbara LaBoe

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Saying the case was simply too weak to take to trial, prosecutors on Thursday dropped all charges against Kevin Welsh — who fatally shot a Longview man in September after their wives got into a fight.

The case was difficult from the start, and recent DNA and other forensic evidence meant it was unlikely Welsh would be convicted, said Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney Sue Baur. Instead, the evidence actually bolstered Welsh’s self defense claims, she said.

Welsh, 45, had been released on bail pending his trial and now is free of any restrictions or requirements,

Baur said she warned Daniel Archie Milloy’s family several times that the case was weak and it just got weaker as more evidence came in. Still, family members said they were outraged the charges were dropped, adding that Milloy’s wife, Korena, had a breakdown in court yesterday when she learned of the decision during a status review of the case.

“I think they ought to fire the whole bunch of them,” Ed Lane said of the prosecutor’s office. Lane is Korena Milloy’s father. “I was very angry and I don’t trust our system anymore. ... If you have money in Cowlitz County you can do anything you want.”

Baur said money had nothing to do with the decision, adding it’s her job to decide which cases can withstand trial.

“It’s not that I believe this was self defense one way or the other,” Baur said. “It’s that he has an overwhelming argument and the fact that negates our case. ... This would have come to light no matter who was the defendant, no matter who was the victim and no matter who was the defense attorney.”

Neither Welsh nor his attorney could be reached for comment Thursday. Both maintained from the start that the shooting was a clear case of self defense.

Baur said she took criticism for charging Welsh before all the evidence was in and knows she’ll take heat for now dropping the charges. Still, she defended her office’s actions based on the information they had at the time.

“He shot him three times, it’s a very difficult case,” she said. “And in a sense perhaps we gave (Korena Milloy) false hope by filing. It was a weak case and now it’s even weaker. ... And she is extremely upset but I think she understands that.”

The shooting happened Sept. 1 at the Del Ray II mobile home park, 5516 Mount Solo Road, Longview.

According to police and court records, here’s what led to the shooting:

Trouble began when Welsh’s wife, Kim, yelled a slanderous remark at Korena Milloy while the Milloys were entering Korena Milloy’s parent’s mobile home. The Welshes live in the same mobile home park as Korena Milloy’s parents. Kevin Welsh and Daniel Milloy, 42, had words and Kevin Welsh then pulled a pistol and threatened to shot Daniel Milloy.

Daniel Milloy returned to his in-laws’ home, but Korena Milloy was still upset and went to the Welsh trailer where Kim Welsh struck her with a baseball bat. Daniel Milloy went in after his wife, followed by Kevin Milloy who had retrieved his gun.

Korena Milloy said her husband was trying to protect her and pulling her off of Kim Welsh. Welsh told police he shot Daniel Milloy after he saw his wife’s bloody face and Daniel Milloy moved toward him. Korena Milloy and her parents said he also pointed the gun at them.

Kevin Welsh was charged with second-degree murder and four counts of second-degree assault and pleaded not guilty.

As DNA evidence came back from the state crime lab, investigators found Kim Welsh’s blood on Daniel Milloy’s hand, which helped Welsh’s self-defense case. Korena Milloy contends the blood was transferred when her husband separated the two women, but Baur said there’s no way to prove that with conflicting versions of the altercation.

Justifiable homicide occurs when the shooter reasonably believes the deceased meant to inflict great personal injury to themselves or their spouse, according to a press release from the Baur’s office. “Additionally, the shooter is allowed to act on appearances in defending themselves or another and a mistaken belief in the appearance of danger is immaterial.”

Korena Milloy also said Kevin Welsh pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger, but it misfired and made a loud click. Firearms experts found no evidence of a misfire, Baur said. And, with both Korena Milloy’s parents in ill health, she was told they wouldn’t be able to testify about Kevin Welsh pointing the gun at them.

Ed Lane said his wife was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, adding another blow to his daughter. She’s receiving counseling but “is having a terrible time,” with everything, he said.

“It’s been a bad, bad year all around,” Ed Lane said.

Related stories:

"Longview man shot to death" (Sept. 1, 2007)

"Police identify Longview shooting victim" (Sept. 2, 2007)

"Coroner: Shooting victim had several wounds" (Sept. 5, 2007)

"Welsh faces murder charge" (Sept. 8, 2007)

"Murder suspect pleads not guilty" (Sept. 14, 2007)

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lucky1 wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:25 PM:

" Its terrible what happened and Im sure could have been avoided but what a waste of resources. This should never have gone to trial. "

mikadax wrote on Jul 3, 2008 2:03 PM:

" Finally! "

ap wrote on Jul 3, 2008 2:06 PM:

" OH MY! HE SHOULD NOT BE FREE. HOW CAN THIS BE? "

pround grandma wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:22 PM:

" THERE IS NO WAY THIS PERSON SHOULD BE WALKING THE STREETS. Dan did not have a weapon, So there was no fear for his life. The gun was in his truck, he had to get it and enter the trailer to shoot Dan, Could have went to another trailer to call the police if he was so scared for his life. He then turned the gun on 3 others. Just shows you Longview is going down the drain. If Dan was the son of one of the Judges then the shooter would have gotten a very stiff sentence. No I have never met Dan so don't think that is why i am siding. "

qwerty wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:40 PM:

" It's about time! "

BettyBoop133 wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:59 PM:

" To pround grandma: I believe he did what any husband would, or should have done, and that's protect his wife. Unless you were in his shoes, don't say he didn't fear for his life! I hope you're never in a situation where someone is beating you in your house and your husband decides to go find the nearest phone instead of coming in and helping you. Couldn't Dan have called the police before going into the Welsh home? Everyone could have done things differently but we can't change that now, can we? "

kitkat wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:00 PM:

" It's ABOUT time that the Justice system has finally worked correctly!!!! Glad to hear that this is over Kevin! =)What a waste of taxpayer money to prove what we all knew was the truth in the first place!!! "

AnotherLameOpinion wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:10 PM:

" I see plenty of fault on both sides myself!!! From the information provided that is. "

pround grandma wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:22 PM:

" To BettyBoop133: Go and find the articles on this shootiing. It was not Dan inside beating the guys wife. "

thankful25LV wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:30 PM:

" To Pround Grandma, I just have one question for you have you ever feared for your life or ever been in this situation? probably not so please why are you judging someone the way you are? You only have partial facts and are basing your opinion off of that? Did you know that Milloy was quite a bit bigger than Welsh? What would you do if someone was beating your loved one? Run to the nearest phone and pray that they weren't dead when you came back? Please don't judge what you have no right to judge. "

thankful25LV wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:33 PM:

" To PRound Grandma if DNA evidence is what changed the States stand, then maybe you should take the time to think that evidence led the state to believe that milloy in fact was beating Mrs. Welsh. "

BettyBoop133 wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:58 PM:

" To:Pround Grandma- I never said Dan was beating his wife. Read my post again. But his wife was covered in blood and Dan started coming at him. Believe me, I have read the articles, all of them. "

wtf wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:59 PM:

" About time that this is all over with. now maybe kevin can move on with his life it is sad that it took so long for the state to let it go and give up. maybe the next time this happens it won't take so long to sort through the changing stories and the cold hard fact. But i do wish people with ignorant comments would just not insert their foot in their mouth. "

Block Watcher wrote on Jul 3, 2008 6:13 PM:

" instead of taking a man's life, kevin should have called police, not gone into the home from outside WITH a gun and shot an unarmed man and the fact the he had to put "multipal shots" into a unarmed man. should have called the police!! "

wtf wrote on Jul 3, 2008 6:23 PM:

" Another thing i am assuming that nobody wants to hear this but since that state dropped charges i assume that that means it does not view kevin as a threat. and remember he did not try to hide that fact he shot milloy, but self defense is self defense. I am sure that Kevin has a hard enough time dealing with the fact he took anothers life and that is something he will have to live with the rest of his life. "

SPARROW wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:14 PM:

" This whole tragedy was the result of irrational behavior on the part of adults that could not find a better way to resolve their differences. What an example they set for their children who will now have to live with this horrible event for the rest of their lives. There was no winner, everyone turned out to be losers in their claim to prove a point. Name calling and taunting another person is something you should be teaching your children not to do. This was a harsh lesson on one of the reasons why one should not act out in that manner. One thing can lead to another, and the end result can be tragic for all involved. "

Buford McGee wrote on Jul 4, 2008 9:30 AM:

" This is am emotional topic but evidence and facts prove true. Entering someones house without permission and the appearance of being harmful allows a homeowner to protect their family. This is the right thing and the correct legal process. "

Blogger Jogger wrote on Jul 4, 2008 10:29 AM:

" Wow, what a proud day this must be for Longview. It's probably an explosive thing to say, but the words, "Redneck and White Trash" come to mind. "

kitten wrote on Jul 4, 2008 10:43 AM:

" Never enter another man or woman's home with intent to do harm. Have these people never heard of "let's take it outside". There is a reason for this. It allows people to retreat into their home if the situation warrants it. None of these people are safe to society because they are animals that have never learned to control themselves. All of them sound like they were enjoying being caught up in the conflict of the moment. Baseball bats, slurs, guns drawn. They all sound like whitetrash to me! "

KARENMILLOY wrote on Jul 4, 2008 11:30 AM:

" Thank you sparrow for your comment, well put.I am Dan Milloys little sister and my family(Milloy)has been hurt deeply by his passing.We celebrate our nations independence and all that it stands for on this day, including the right to bear arms and protect the ones you love. I wonder why the court had to order Kevin welsh to take his medication as a condition of his pre trial release? He would have been disqualified as a gun owner if there were any mental problems in his past. That said, my husband would have done things in the same way if he thought I was being hurt in my home.The sad part here is that these charges were really dismissed due to the credibility of the prosecution witnesses,mostly Korena,who has had a lifelong track record of malicious lying. We will never know the truth about my brothers death,but if Kevin Welsh did murder my brother he will be judged in the end.I can tell you that one of the most hurtful things she has done was to my mother, she sent my brothers body away for cremation ,denying her the right to view her first born. We have all been expecting this result knowing the Lane family for most of our lives.This was my brothers fovorite holiday, we miss you and will always love you and keep you in our hearts Dan. "

shoprat008 wrote on Jul 4, 2008 11:38 AM:

" Does this mean we're going to see a lot more of self defense shootings?? We're all going back to the old west, but with just a lot better weapons and crazier and meaner people. "

wtf wrote on Jul 4, 2008 12:27 PM:

" it is still funny that the paper can not reach kevin for comment or his lawyer, cause simply put it is not hard to get in touch with them maybe instead of being one sided on the story tdn should get all facts and both side of the story before making itself look ignorant. "

ZachSmith wrote on Jul 4, 2008 1:23 PM:

" It is a shame that even with all the facts out on the table, showing that Mr. and Mrs. Welsh's story of self defense are true, that people still view this as a crime that must be punished, simply put this case ran its course. Lack of evidance showing that Kevin intended to kill Dan and that he acted in anyway other then self defense lead to the drop in charges nothing else affected that decision, and it seems ignorant that anybody would say the Welsh's had money since they lived in a trailer park. I am sorry that Dan had to pass because of the events of that day it is truely sad, but on the flip side we all must think about what would have happened had kevin not acted the way he did. I don't believe that any human being would have acted differently if put in his shoe's. The evidence supports that Mr Welsh did no more then he felt he had to do, it also shows that he did not put a gun to anybodys head and pull the trigger as accused. Maybe instead of keeping our stands on which side was right or wrong we should all, take a step back and view all the facts and make a judgement simple on the facts, not the stories we have been told. Only then can we come to a desicion that is not clouded by lies. "

wtf wrote on Jul 4, 2008 1:42 PM:

" one last thing maybe we all can remember this sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Funny how we are taught that as children but when some of us are insulted we go straight into somebodies house to assualt them, maybe we should all learn from this and stop and think before we act. "

mom of four wrote on Jul 4, 2008 3:53 PM:

" I like how the father said that he no longer trusts the system~WAKE UP CALL~ it's been flawed for a LONG time! "

cheney119 wrote on Jul 4, 2008 8:52 PM:

" I would agree with the white trash comment, only it is an insult to white trash. I can see how people react with glee when they tear down the Oaks Trailer Court and their ilk. You consealed carry advocates take heart, we might have had 3-4 dead wrestling fans in that case. Can the lowest common denominator possibly get any lower? "

my nanny wrote on Jul 7, 2008 3:33 PM:

" This article scares the heck out of me. My nephew was shot four times in the back, while running from the man with the gun.The shooter claims self-defense. My nephew has had 13 surgeries, more to come and has been hospitalized for seven weeks. The shooter is out on bail (thank you Ms. Baur) Can someone explain to me when will excess self-defense become a crime? "

thankful25LV wrote on Jul 7, 2008 4:25 PM:

" White trash huh who made all of you the people to judge? and to my nanny did you not read the stories it was self deffense because milloy came into the Welsh residence and was beating on mrs. welsh....I am sorry for what happened to your nephew but please don't judge when you weren't there. I like the comment that WTF made Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.............But my words and others words can result in actions where I hurt someone very badly and they are protected by there loved one....maybe I shouldn't have said my words or beat on someone? Wow something to think about huh? ANd kitten who are you calling animals and whitetrash, not one single person involved in this ever wanted this to happen and I sure hope that someday you don't have to live with a split second decision to save someone you love while being critisized by half the community. To everyone STOP JUDGING until you know the whole story. What if it was your family in the welsh's position. Nobody has any right to enter someones home and beat on them...it is self deffense. Also the comment about if milloy was a judges son...... well just take this story for instance in oregon there was an offduty officer and his fam home and someone wanted int the house and so he shot that person throught the door. He got off on self deffense......another thought "

cpie wrote on Jul 7, 2008 5:15 PM:

" WOW. I have to agree with some of you - shoprat, wtf. There is a reason for everything and only the lord knows why this happened. I also hope that this doesn't spark more self defense cases and that women use baseball bats to help coach there daughters little league. A lesson for everyone!! Guns don't kill, people do. Violence never solves anything, it just makes them more complicated. God bless all of you!! "

my nanny wrote on Jul 7, 2008 8:10 PM:

" Thankful25LV...I was talking about the young man shot by a man who would not get in his truck and leave the Dave's View development as he had been asked several times. This was 7 weeks ago, not in 2007.
I was not talking about the Welsh shooting. Why couldn't he just shoot him in the foot> O'h silly me, my nephew was shot in the bottom of the foot as he tried to leave the area of the man with the gun. It is very hard to run when you have been shot in the shoulder, lower back, (which hit every vital organ except his heart).He was also hit in the ankkle as his wife tried to help him.We are waiting for our day in court... "

Cut 2 the Chase wrote on Jul 12, 2008 4:09 PM:

" Two "adult" women...ugly words between them..they were the cause of this tragedy. Neither had the character to back down, neither thought past their own immediate need to be "right", neither let it go..one with a "seething" anger..one with a baseball bat. They dragged their men into what became a fatal act. They will forever wonder "what if"...what if one had kept her mouth shut instead of using cruel words, "what if" the other had "let it go",not respond. Due to their total immaturity and lack of ability to take the "higher road" and make a more peaceful choice, a man is dead, call it what you want, but a man is DEAD. The other man has taken a life, will always know that he has killed another human. Two families are destroyed emotionally and financially! "Self defense" is not going to give either of you much comfort in the deepest part of your hearts, in the most truthful parts of your souls. Each of you had the power and the choice at that instant to walk away, and neither of you did. Ladies...was it worth it? I think not. No matter how you look at the facts AFTER these two gals got into their altercation, they started this whole thing. So, so very very sad. Not in this lifetime, or any to come, will either of you be free of your responsibility in this. "

morethanuknow wrote on Jul 21, 2008 5:39 PM:

" Has anyone ever thought than more happened that morning than what the daily news keeps printing?

And a question for the daily news. When are you planning on getting ahold of the Welsh's? It really isn't hard. "

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