Nekoosa 2021 attempted homicide case gets settled after victim takes stand Monday
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – A 51-year-old Nekoosa woman charged with shooting a man in March 2021 was released from jail Monday after the victim told a jury he still loves her and wants to continue their relationship.
Amy L. Chulin-Carpenter pleaded no contest to the charges of substantial battery while armed. Wood County Circuit Judge Greg Potter dismissed charges of attempted first-degree homicide and using a firearm while intoxicated and substantial battery.
Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert asked Potter to sentence Chulin-Carpenter to 18 months in jail and five years of extended supervision. Defense attorney Robert Gardner said Chulin-Carpenter already had served 17 months in the Wood County Jail, and it made no sense to give her the extra month.
Potter gave Chulin-Carpenter one year in jail and 10 years of probation. He said he could double the number of years she was supervised and, if she violates her probation, he could give her up to 15 years in prison. As conditions of her probation, Potter ordered Chulin-Carpenter to maintain absolute sobriety and have no weapons.
During opening arguments of Chulin Carpenter's trial, which began Monday morning, attorneys said many of the facts in the case are not disputed.
What the two attorneys did dispute was what Chulin-Carpenter intended when she shot the man in the back at a Nekoosa home March 2, 2021.
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Lambert told 14 jurors Chulin-Carpenter wanted to kill the man. He said she had gotten away from him during a fight they were having, and another woman, who came to her assistance during the fight, was in no danger when Chulin-Carpenter fire a shot into the man's back, hitting him in the liver.
Gardner said Chulin-Carpenter thought the woman's life was in danger and the older woman had a right to defend another woman in the house. Gardner said Chulin-Carpenter was aiming for the man's buttocks, but he moved, causing the bullet to hit farther up.
Chulin-Carpenter didn't shoot again, Gardener said. If she intended on killing them man she would have, he said. The other woman called 911 and when the communications officer directed Chulin-Carpenter to empty the bullets out of the gun and put it down, she did it, Gardener said.
The first witness Monday was the man who was shot. He said he and Chulin-Carpenter had been out together and, when they got home, he was backing a vehicle into the garage when he hit and put a small dent in the door.
The man said Chulin-Carpenter must have heard the noise and come outside. She thought he had hit her car and began yelling at the man. The two went inside the Nekoosa home and continued to argue. The man said he and Chulin-Carpenter began pushing each other. Then Chulin-Carpenter bit him on the bicep.
The man said he got angry when Chulin-Carpenter bit him, and he began hitting and punching her to get her to let him go, he said. The man said Chulin-Carpenter fell to the floor and he got on her back and held her shoulders down to try to get her to stop fighting.
The man said the other woman heard the noise, came into the kitchen and attacked him. He said he lost his temper and pushed the woman into a corner. He said he had his hand up under her jaw holding her against the wall. He then heard Chulin-Carpenter behind him say, "Oh hell no!"
The man said he wanted to get away from the second woman and find out what Chulin-Carpenter was doing when he got shot.
When Lambert asked the man about changes in his testimony from when he talked to officers following the shooting, the man said he didn't remember much of the shooting or talking to officers afterward.
The man said he loved Chulin-Carpenter and believed they could work out their problems.
Following a lunch break, Lambert said the victim's story had changed considerably from he had said to police. Lambert said the jury would likely not find Chulin-Carpenter guilty of the attempted homicide charge and the plea agreement seemed like a good compromise.
The man spoke in Chulin-Carpenter's favor during the sentencing Monday afternoon. He said she was hard-working, smart and loyal. He said she could move back in with him Monday.
Chulin-Carpenter, who has been in the Wood County Jail pending a $250,000 cash bail since March 3, 2021, said she had learned a lot during the past 1½ years. She said she will move in with her mother and slowly try the relationship with the man again to see if it works.
Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Nekoosa attempted homicide case settled after victim takes stand
