By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Jesse Karr, the 31-year-old National Guardsman charged in the gunshot death of his girlfriend, has been found not guilty.
A Lewis County jury returned a not guilty verdict just before noon on both charges of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter.
Karr, now 31, said he was unloading 28-year-old Sara M. Whitson’s handgun when it accidentally discharged in their Chehalis apartment. She died during emergency surgery.
The jury of eight women and four men began deliberations at noon yesterday, went home for the night and returned a verdict at 11:45 a.m. today.
Judge Nelson Hunt presided over the trial in Lewis County Superior Court.
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Read about the opening day of the trial here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter