The trial for Chad T. Richards, the former UW-Whitewater student accused of killing his girlfriend, UW-W gymnast Kara Welsh, Aug. 30, 2024, has been delayed until 2026. A status conference held Aug. 19 at the Walworth County Judicial Center ended with new trial dates being set, with a final pre-trial scheduled for May 29 and a 12-person jury trial set to begin on June 9.

Richards, who is accused of first-degree intentional homicide by use of a dangerous weapon, was initially set to stand trial beginning Dec. 15, 2025.

Richards attended the conference in custody via video with his attorney Gibson Hatch. “[An] email received from the crime lab today stated that the lab portion of the analysis will be done today. However the drafting of the report & the peer review will take a couple weeks to complete,” Walworth County court records disclose.

The initial criminal complaint from Aug. 2024 states police responded to a call from Richards about a woman dying. Officers entered Richards’ apartment and found Welsh lying on the floor with several gunshot wounds. They identified that Welsh was not breathing and had no pulse. In a custody interview, Richards stated he and Welsh got into a verbal argument, which led to Welsh grabbing Richards’ handgun from his nightstand. Richards said he was able to take the gun away from Welsh and shot her out of fear for his life.

Richards, now 24, entered a not guilty plea last November, though a preliminary hearing the month prior stated he likely committed the murder. Prior to August’s status conference, a similar conference was held on July 15. The trial dates were addressed at the July conference.

Walworth County court records say that, at the time, “[The] Defense has not received needed information. Unknown if current trial dates will be feasible.”

Welsh’s family was present for the conference and said they did not want the trial dates to be delayed.