Lang
6/26/21
A Muscatine man has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend near Nichols.
A Muscatine County jury found 24-year-old David Hatfield guilty of first-degree murder Friday in the shooting death of 18-year-old Kaitlyn Palmer.
Prosecutors say Hatfield shot Palmer in the head with a .22-caliber handgun as she slept at Saulsbury Recreation Area in rural Muscatine County.
Investigators say Hatfield called 9-1-1 on October 16th, 2019 to report that Palmer had shot herself in the head. She was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where she died the next day.
Prosecutors argued Hatfield shot Palmer because of an unwanted pregnancy.
First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence in Iowa of life in prison. Hatfield is scheduled to be sentenced July 30.