STARKVILLE — The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld the capital murder conviction of a man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in a Starkville Walmart in 2018.

William Thomas Chisholm was sentenced to life in prison after a four-day trial in July 2021.

Chisholm shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Shauna Witt, in her optometry office. According to eyewitness testimony at his trial, he forced his way into an examination room and, after a struggle, shot her several times in the back as she tried to run away.

Witt had a restraining order against Chisholm at the time.

Capital murder requires the killing to be committed as part of another felony, in this case burglary — Chisholm forced his way into Witt’s business in order to kill her. Chisholm’s appeal focuses on whether the burglary charge was appropriate, as well as questioning whether a mistrial should have been declared after an expert witness for the defense was ruled unqualified.

Finally, he argued he was entitled to the possibility of a lesser charge of manslaughter.

Burglary?
In his appeal, Chisholm argued he couldn’t have committed burglary because the building was open to the public. The court disagreed, noting that the business was a private optometry practice on the one hand and Chisholm came there to commit a crime on the other.

“Not only was Chisholm not a patient, but (Witt) had recently obtained a restraining order against him,” the court wrote. “She had directed her employees to call 911 if Chisholm ever showed up at her office, which they did. So he was clearly not a typical business guest; in fact, he was not welcome.”

During the assault, Chisholm also forced his way into an examination room where Witt was treating a patient, “… somewhere he unquestionably lacked permission to be.”

Insanity defense
Chisholm, at trial, attempted to pursue an insanity defense. However, his expert witness, Dr. Jennifer Carroll, was not allowed to testify after she admitted during questioning by prosecutors she “… was not qualified to hold herself out as an expert in clinical and forensic psychology.”

“She made clear she lacked the required education and training,” the court wrote. “Her online PhD was not from an (American Psychological Association) accredited university — it was in general, not clinical or forensic, psychology.”

Chisholm argues a mistrial should have been granted because of “misrepresentations made by (Carroll) in preparation of the defense.”

However, the court found his lawyer “… was wholly aware Carroll’s qualifications would likely be questioned at trial. And he chose to tender … someone he knew was not a licensed psychologist, nor even a clinical or forensic psychologist.”

The decision to bar her from testifying did not damage Chisholm’s defense because her testimony would not have resolved the issue, the court wrote, because “it was up to the jury to decide Chisholm’s purported insanity.”

The defense was also allowed to use one of the state’s expert witnesses to testify as to Chisholm’s mental state, the court wrote.

Manslaughter
Chisholm argued the trial court should have allowed the option of a conviction for heat-of-passion manslaughter. In order for that charge to be in play, Chisholm would have had to have an “impassioned reaction” to an insult or provocation of some kind.

Witt did not provoke him, the court found. When he pulled a gun, she attempted to run.

“This is not provocation on (Witt’s) part,” the court wrote. “It is the behavior of someone trying to escape.”

District Attorney Scott Colom, in an emailed statement to The Dispatch, said he was glad the case was over.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family and friends and hope this final decision brings them some measure of solace in their healing process,” Colom wrote. “This case is another example of how my office is able to obtain an over 80% conviction rate at trial without risk of reversal by higher courts.”

Colom said in the seven years of his tenure he’s never had a criminal conviction reversed.

Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.