Estherville, Iowa — The trial has wrapped up in Estherville for the second of two men accused of murder in the death of an Estherville man, and the verdict was guilty on a lesser charge.
A criminal complaint says that about 13 months ago, 20-year-old David McDowell was reportedly lured to an apartment by 19-year-old Connor Uhde and 18-year-old CeJay Van Der Wilt before he was shot to death early the next morning along a roadway about five miles outside of Estherville. His body was discovered several hours later by a passing motorist.
Uhde entered an Alford plea last month to attempted murder and third-degree kidnapping, but has yet to be sentenced. He had originally been charged with murder in the first degree.
Now a jury has reached a guilty verdict in Van Der Wilt’s case. He had also originally been charged with first-degree murder, but was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. That offense is a class D felony, and Van Der Wilt could face five years in prison for the offense.
A hearing for any post-trial motions and sentencing of Van Der Wilt will be on December 6th. Meanwhile, the judge in Uhde’s case said his sentencing would be after Van Der Wilt’s trial. Uhde’s attempted murder charge is a class B felony, and Uhde could face up to 25 years in prison. The kidnapping charge is a class C felony and as such carries a 10-year penalty, but we are told that these sentences could run concurrently.
