Wold sentencing slated for Tuesday
Murder-for-hire case to come to an end after two years
Waukesha - After nearly a two-year and three-month ordeal, the murder-for-hire case will come to a close Tuesday when Darren M. Wold is sentenced.
The hearing is expected to be highly emotional as Wold, 43, of Lubbock, Texas, was found guilty of hiring a man to kill Kimberly Smith of Oconomowoc, his former girlfriend. Smith and Wold had a child together which would lead to a bitter custody dispute and ultimately her murder, based on testimony from a 2-½ week trial. Wold has been convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory life in prison sentence.
Wold, formerly of Waukesha, had his longtime friend, Jack E. Johnson, 67, of Mexico, formerly of Waukesha and Oconomowoc; hired Justin P. Welch, 28, of California to kill Smith. Welch, who was living with Johnson at the time, flew to Wisconsin and on Oct. 1, 2009, stabbed Smith numerous times.
Welch would eventually enter a guilty plea to killing Smith and testified against Wold and Johnson. Welch said he was to be paid $7,000 by Wold. At the time of Welch's arrest in November 2009, he said he had received $2,300. A jury on Nov. 2 found Wold and Johnson guilty of first-degree intentional homicide.
Welch was sentenced to life in prison but because of his cooperation with police, he will be eligible for parole at age 70. Johnson also received a life sentence, with no possibility of parole.
The day after the verdict, Wold went on a hunger strike and on a judge's order was forced fed. Wold has recently said in published reports that he is eating once more as he plans on proclaiming his innocence at his sentencing.
Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel indicated after the Welch sentencing, this hearing would be highly emotional for family and friends of Smith.
"The most powerful emotions are yet to come," Schimel said at the time.
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