Jury convicts man of second-degree murder in shooting death of former wife

Colin Edward Pritchard, 59, was convicted Friday evening of intentional second-degree murder in the shooting death of his former wife, Cindy Pritchard, 51, at his south Topeka apartment in 2015.

Jurors deliberated three hours and 20 minutes before notifying the judge they had a verdict at 6:05 p.m. Friday. Jurors normally end their service at 5 p.m. daily, but the jury decided to continue working.

The jury had the choice either to find Colin Pritchard not guilty or guilty of premeditated first-degree murder, intentional second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The slaying occurred March 18, 2015.

Earlier on Friday, the Shawnee County District coroner and a former assistant district attorney on Friday blasted pathologist assistant Shawn Parcells, who was called as an expert witness by the defense team.

Testimony about Parcells surfaced shortly before closing arguments began.Referring to a photograph showing the contact gunshot wound in the top-left side of the victim’s head, assistant district attorney Brett Watson said during closing arguments that evidence indicated the defendant was above the victim, who had her hands up in a defensive mode when she was shot.

The evidence is consistent with this man killing the victim, Watson said, adding it was an "execution" style slaying.

When testifying on Thursday, Colin Pritchard said his former wife had been complaining unrelentingly that he hadn’t purchased her some glasses, following him into a bedroom where he was lying down.

When she retrieved a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol from a sofa in the living room, he said, he tried to take it from her, and it discharged, striking her in the head. He said it was an accident but he felt responsible.

Defense attorney Matthew Williams told jurors that, as the Pritchards struggled for control of the pistol, she pulled her hands back, her hands and the pistol struck her head, and the firearm discharged, causing the fatal contact wound with her head.

Colin Pritchard was trying to stop Cindy Pritchard from getting the pistol to protect himself and her from harm, Williams said.Earlier Friday morning, two prosecution rebuttal witnesses testified about Parcells’ reputation.

Charles Glenn, Shawnee County coroner and a forensic pathologist, said, “I don’t find him to be trustworthy at all.” Parcells has “misrepresented” his credentials, said Glenn, a medical doctor.

“He is someone who pretends to be a doctor,” Glenn said. “I wouldn’t want to be involved with him.”

Former assistant district attorney Charles Kitt said Parcells was “disqualified” from testifying as an expert witness in the James Arthur Qualls III murder trial in summer 2014.

Parcells was called as an expert witness in a Topeka Municipal Court case as a toxicologist and was “disqualified” in that case, too, Kitt said.

In June 2014, Kitt examined Parcells’ professional resume.

“He had a tendency to exaggerate his qualifications,” Kitt testified. Parcells has a reputation for “embellishing” things, Kitt said.

Parcells was sitting in the courtroom when Kitt and Glenn testified Friday.

Parcells testified Friday he has never told anyone he was a medical doctor, adding he knows his limitations as a pathology assistant.

Parcells said the fact he does all the work of a pathologist, and then a pathologist signs off on his work, “doesn’t fit the mold” of forensic pathology.

Parcells said he doesn’t form pathology opinions in cases.

Parcells, who isn’t a coroner, agreed Thursday with a coroner’s earlier testimony during the prosecution part of the case that Cindy Pritchard suffered a contact gunshot wound to the head and about the path the bullet traveled.

Parcells said it was a 50-50 conclusion whether the shooting victim suffered bruises on her arms, legs and other locations on her body during a struggle before the shooting.

Parcells has a masters degree from the New York Chiropractic College, which included one week of in-class work and 36 to 38 credit hours of online courses. He has an undergraduate degree from Kansas State University.

Parcells said he is working on a doctorate degree in neuro, infectious disease and forensic epidemiology from Capella University and expects to complete that degree in a year or two.

He testified a pathology assistant doesn’t have to be licensed and the law doesn’t require the presence of a medical doctor during an autopsy.