William Harry Meece

Case record: William Harry Meece

Background

William Harry Meece was a Lexington man who was convicted of killing three people at a farmhouse in 1993. Meece was later sentenced to death and also received additional sentences for burglary and robbery.

Meece was born on 10-18-72. In the sentencing phase, he was described as 33, and he was said to become the 37th inmate on Kentucky’s Death Row if sentencing followed the jury’s recommendation.

Meece was divorced and was described as the father of three. He worked in Lexington at fast-food restaurants, lawn-care and pest-exterminating businesses, and as a taxi driver and bank courier.

Meece’s difficult childhood was raised during trial. It was stated that his mother left his father because he was violent and that Meece never knew him. It was also stated that when Meece was less than a year old, his unstable mother left him with his grandmother and disappeared, eventually signing papers for the grandmother to adopt the boy. Jan Meece testified and said: “I'm legally his sister, biologically his mother,” showing the tangled nature of Meece's youth. It was stated that after Meece’s grandmother died when he was 12, his mother moved with him from Florida to Lexington but assumed an identity as his sister for 15 years. It was stated she kept Meece out of school for a time and discouraged him from talking to people, which she said made him a loner. It was also stated that years later she would be diagnosed with mental and emotional problems and that she had heard at least one voice in her head most of her life and sometimes more, urging her to kill people; she also said she thought Meece heard voices but she “won't admit it.”

Meece dropped out of Henry Clay High School but later got his GED and attended Lexington Community College and the University of Kentucky.

The offence

On February 26, 2003, Meece shot Joseph and Elizabeth Wellnitz and their son, Dennis Wellnitz, in their home in Columbia, Kentucky.

During trial and sentencing, the killings were described as the murders of veterinarian Joseph Wellnitz, 50, his wife Beth (Elizabeth), 40, and their son Dennis, 20. The three were each shot several times at their farmhouse in Adair County in February 1993. The case described the lack of forced entry and that robbery at first did not appear to be a motive. It was stated that at the time police found more than 10 casings from 9mm bullets. Police said Joseph Wellnitz was killed downstairs, Beth Wellnitz was killed in an upstairs bedroom, and Dennis Wellnitz was shot in his room down the hall.

The prosecution described the killing method. The prosecutor, Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Wright, told jurors that “Meece planned the crime -- even putting together a calendar -- and then invaded the sanctity of the Wellnitz home while the victims slept,” and he said that when the first barrage of shots did not kill Dennis Wellnitz, Meece reloaded and “pumped three more shots into his back and the back of his head.” Wright also said: “Greed motivated the savagery,” and he said Meece was “willing to accept money to kill people . . . in a cold-blooded, calculated manner,” and that Meece was “deserving of the ultimate penalty.”

The motive presented at trial was inheritance-related. Prosecutors said Meece and the Wellnitz’s surviving daughter, Meg Wellnitz Appleton, contrived the murder plot to collect a $550,000 inheritance after the slayings.

Victims and family context

• Joseph Wellnitz, 50, was a veterinarian.
• Elizabeth (Beth) Wellnitz, 40.
• Dennis Wellnitz, 20.

The case included detail about Joseph Wellnitz’s will, stating that he left his estate to his wife Beth unless she died with him. If Beth died with him, the estate went to Mary Preston of Lexington, Beth’s mother, with instructions to provide for Dennis and Meg. Meg Wellnitz Appleton was described as Joseph Wellnitz’s surviving daughter.

The case described that the two children, Dennis and Meg, were Beth Wellnitz’s children from a prior marriage, but had taken their stepfather’s name.

Insurance and inheritance

Within a year after the murders, Appleton was involved in a legal fight over more than $500,000 in insurance money. It was stated that Meg Wellnitz Appleton sued Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York to try to collect the insurance money and that the company balked, saying she was a suspect in the killings.

The case stated that court records showed the case was settled in April 1994, with $518,000 going to a law firm to disperse to Appleton and her half-brother. The amount each received was not specified by the court files, but it was stated that Eric Wellnitz later said he got only a small amount.

The case also stated that Meece’s motive involved the inheritance. It was stated that the Wellnitzes’ daughter Meg, who was attending LCC with Meece at the time of the murders, got $300,000 after her parents were killed. It was also stated that Meg Wellnitz Appleton pleaded guilty in January 2005 to three counts of complicity to murder and testified against Meece, and that Meece initially pleaded guilty but later withdrew the plea.

Investigation

The case stated that the investigation had proceeded for about a decade without suspects until police received a tip that Meece and Appleton had talked about being involved in the killings.

It was stated that state police did not receive information required to make an arrest in the case for nearly a decade. Detective Ricky Underwood and Sgt. Dennis Benningfield were identified as discussing the case. It was stated: “We don't give up,” Benningfield said.

It was stated that police tried several times in recent months to interview Appleton, but she avoided talking to officers, refusing to return calls or saying she needed to talk to a lawyer first. When police showed up at her door at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday with an arrest warrant, Underwood said: “She was surprised, to say the least.”

Arrest

Police arrested Margaret Anne “Meg” Wellnitz Appleton and William Harry Meece in the grisly killings. It was stated that Meece was arrested at the Fayette County Detention Center, where he was being held on a charge that he agreed to kill someone last year for $2,000.

State police arrested Meece in November after he allegedly took a $500 down payment on the murder, but before any killing took place. When arrested, Meece said he earned $300 a week and owed $14,000, including $10,000 in student loans. It was stated that in his divorce three years ago he said he was a taxi driver and lawn-care specialist.

The case included mention that Meece’s estranged wife charged that he raped her on Christmas Eve 1999, but the charge was later dismissed. It was also stated that the next year Meece was robbed at gunpoint of cash, a cell phone, and an automatic pistol.

Trial

Charges and indictment

Meece was originally indicted in Adair County in case 03-CR-00020. It was then stated that on June 30, 2006 a change of venue was entered and the case moved to Warren County in case 06-CR-00656.

The case described charges against both Meece and Appleton.

Appleton was charged with three counts of complicity to commit murder and one count each of complicity to commit robbery and burglary. It was stated that the indictment indicates Appleton “solicited, commanded or engaged in a conspiracy” with Meece and that Meece pulled the trigger.

Meece was indicted on:

• 3 counts of murder
• 3 counts of complicity to commit murder
• 1 count each of 1st-degree robbery and 1st-degree burglary
• 1 count each of complicity in robbery and burglary

The case stated that if convicted, the two would be eligible for the death penalty because the crime involved multiple murders and aggravating circumstances such as robbery.

Pleas and plea withdrawal

Meece initially pleaded guilty to the slayings, but withdrew the plea in May 2005.

Meece made a statement to the court on Friday morning but did not express remorse for the killings.

Testimony and sentencing advocacy

The record included closing arguments and sentencing requests.

Meece’s attorney, Jon Hieneman, told jurors that the testimony about Meece’s dysfunctional childhood was not presented as an excuse, but rather to give a better understanding of his background. Hieneman said: “The record shows that Meece is a loving father, a hard worker and has been respectful in prison.” Hieneman urged jurors to show mercy by recommending a sentence for Meece of life without parole for at least 25 years and said that would accomplish the goal of deterrence. Hieneman also said: “I ask that you do not impose a sentence that kills Bill Meece,” and: “I ask that you be merciful in this case, even if it's not deserved.”

The prosecutor, Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Wright, argued for death. Wright said: “But if there was ever a crime that called for a death sentence, it was the calculated murders of the Wellnitz family.” He also asserted: “Meece planned the crime -- even putting together a calendar -- and then invaded the sanctity of the Wellnitz home while the victims slept.” Wright said: “When the first barrage of shots didn't kill Dennis Wellnitz, Meece reloaded and pumped three more shots into his back and the back of his head.” Wright characterized the motive as greed and said: “Greed motivated the savagery, Wright said.” Wright also told jurors: “William Harry Meece is a dangerous individual. He is an individual who is willing to accept money to kill people . . . in a cold-blooded, calculated manner,” and: “William Harry Meece is deserving of the ultimate penalty.”

The sentencing also involved remarks attributed to additional counsel. One of Meece’s attorneys, Vincent Yustas, said he would immediately start looking into appeal issues.

Sentencing

On November 9, 2006, Circuit Judge James G. Weddle agreed to a jury’s recommendation and gave Meece three death sentences. It was stated that the sentencing took place Friday morning and that the trial had been moved to Warren County.

Weddle also sentenced Meece to 20 years for a burglary conviction and another 20 years for robbery.

The record included a jury recommendation stage where the jury recommended three death sentences—one for each victim—in the murders of:

• Joseph Wellnitz
• Elizabeth Wellnitz
• Dennis Wellnitz

The case timeline included an intended schedule where Weddle scheduled sentencing for Oct. 20. It was also stated that the jury deliberated for almost three hours.

Counsels and family reactions

The mother of Meece kept her face buried in her hands when Meece showed little emotion during Weddle’s reading of the jury’s recommendation. Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Wright said he was pleased with the decision.

A friend of the slain family later hugged former state police officers Roy Wheat and Dennis Benningfield, saying “thank you.”

Appeals

Outcome

William Harry Meece was convicted of murder, with three counts, and was also convicted of burglary in the 1st Degree and robbery in the 1st Degree.

Meece was sentenced to death on November 9, 2006 in Warren County.

Other details

Meg Wellnitz Appleton

Margaret Anne “Meg” Wellnitz Appleton was described as a Lexington figure and as the surviving daughter. She pleaded guilty in January 2005 to three counts of complicity to murder and testified against Meece.

Appleton was described as long denying any involvement in the murders. It was stated that she was being held without bond in the Adair County jail after the Thursday arrest.

It was also stated that Appleton got a sizable inheritance after the killings, and that in the week of her arrest she was charged in connection with a plot to kill and rob Appleton’s family on Feb. 26, 1993. She was charged with three counts of complicity to commit murder and additional complicity counts related to robbery and burglary.

Prior unrelated case involving agreement to kill

The case stated that Wright told jurors Meece was convicted in Lexington of agreeing to take $2,000 to kill a man in 2002, and that Meece was serving 12 years in that case.

Procedural and investigation delay

The case noted that it took so long for Meece to go to trial because state police did not receive information required to make an arrest in the case for nearly a decade.

Community and clinic detail

The case included community background: the Wellnitzes were described as well-known and liked in the farming area, and Joseph Wellnitz treated animals even if the owners had not paid. Dana King described Beth Wellnitz inviting her to help wash a pony when she was a little girl, and King continued to do odd jobs. The clinic was later owned by Dana King and her husband Steve King, and the clinic had a patched bullet hole in the door where a round strayed the night of the killings.

Evidence and scene description

The case stated there was no forced entry and no sign of a struggle, and that at the time robbery did not appear to be a motive. It further stated that police found more than 10 casings from 9mm bullets.

Insurance settlement and other civil matters

In addition to insurance-related litigation, the case described that a grand jury charged Appleton and Meece and that police kept after the investigation and got new information within the past few months.

Court records were described as settling in April 1994 with $518,000 going to a law firm to disperse to Appleton and her half-brother, and that Eric Wellnitz later said he got only a small amount.

Divorce and other personal details

The case described Appleton’s divorce in 1997. It stated that in that divorce, her estranged husband said she had a trust fund worth $190,000 and that relatives gave her thousands of dollars in gifts.

The case also described Appleton’s college attendance and a marriage and children detail. It stated that Appleton was a student at Lexington Community College at the time of the murders and later attended the University of Kentucky for two months, and that school records did not indicate what she studied or that she got a degree, per spokeswoman Mary Margaret Colliver. It was stated that court records indicated she married Randall Ryan Appleton in 1995, divorced in 1997, and had a son who was five months old in mid-1997.

Supporters and ongoing interest in the case

The case stated that Cindy Litteral worked at Wellnitz’s clinic for 13 years and kept a scrapbook on the case. She said the arrests were an answered prayer and said: “You was hoping it would be a stranger. It hurts to know, if they did do this, that someone could be that cold-hearted to their own family.”