Murder-for-hire case hits delay

Waukesha - The trial of the three men accused in the Oconomowoc murder-for-hire case will not occur until late this year at the earliest.

The cause of the lengthy delay is due to the man accused of killing Kimberly Smith, 39, Oct. 1 changed attorneys and his new attorney said it will take her until this fall to go through all of the prosecutions evidence.

Donna Kuchler, the attorney of Justin P. Welch, informed Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge J. Mac Davis Thursday she would not be able get through the mountain of material until September. Kuchler replaces Welch’s original attorney Theodore Roy Bryant-Nanz, who withdrew from the case earlier this month.

Welch, 26, of California is suspected of stabbing Smith in her home. Prosecutors allege Smith’s former boyfriend, who is the father of her son, Darren Wold, 41, of Lubbock, Texas, sent money to Jack E. Johnson, 65, of Mexico, who in turn hired Welch to kill Smith. All three men are charged with first-degree intentional homicide.