After five hours of deliberations, a McDonald County jury of seven men and five women convicted Dawn Wynn, 50, of Anderson, of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of her husband, Harold Wynn.
Wynn was ordered to be back in court on Oct. 7 to learn her fate.
Sixteen witnesses, including four of Wynn’s family members, testified during the three-day trial.
Testimony showed Harold Wynn was found dead in a 5th-wheel camper, lying partially on the right side of his back. His right arm was under his body, and his left arm was underneath the blanket and sheet of the bed, according to trial testimony.
A .40 caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol was found at Harold Wynn’s head. The gun was facing an outward wall along with a second pillow where Dawn Wynn told investigators she slept.
The mother of five sat stoically at the defense table, never showing the slightest emotion. Three of her immediate family members sat on the benches on the right side of the courtroom, showing their support—a huge contrast to the overflowing benches of Harold Wynn supporters sitting behind prosecutors Maleia Cheney and Tim Intessimone.
Wynn’s immediate family members and two of her children declined to comment on the verdict.
Wynn declined to take the stand and testify on her behalf, which is typical in murder trials.
“This case is very fact-driven,” Cheney told the jurors during closing arguments. “The facts at the scene are not suicide or accidental but a homicide.”
The evidence shows Wynn deliberated, planned, and executed the killing of her husband, she said.
Cheney pointed the position of Harold’s body, and the gun was not within his reach.
Cheney rehashed the testimony of McDonald County Deputy Coroner Jonathan Fletcher, who testified Wynn wanted to know when she could get a copy of the death certificate and Chief Medical Examiner Ransom Ellis ruled the death as a homicide – not a suicide.
The accidental discharge of the gun was not supported, Cheney told the jurors.
Cheney hammered away about the family’s financial difficulties, the increased life insurance policy, and the rocky marriage.
Trial testimony showed Wynn had increased the life insurance policy she had taken out on her husband up to $100,000. The increase went into effect on November 1, 2021, and was noted on her November 15, 2021, check.
Trial testimony showed she owed money to everyone.
In her last statement to the jury, Cheney said Lane Bridenstine, Wynn’s son-in-law, was a former paramedic. After learning of the shooting, he grabbed his paramedic bag and headed to the camper trailer where Harold Wynn was fatally shot.
“She wouldn’t let him in,” Cheney said.
“Why wouldn’t she let him or Savannah inside the trailer? Cheney said.
“The investigation is just so flawed, you can’t trust it.”
Charles Oppelt, Wynn’s attorney
Charles Oppelt, Wynn’s attorney, alluded to another person as a possible suspect and the poor investigation by law enforcement as a reason for the jury to acquit Wynn.
“All the state has proved is Harold died,” Oppelt said. “It was a blotched investigation.”
Oppelt said the integrity of the crime scene was compromised.
Harold Wynn’s body was moved at least twice, and no one bothered to tape off the crime scene until 8 a.m., he said.
The trial lasted three days and involved 16 witnesses—12 for the prosecution and four for the defense.
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