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Ottumwa man guilty of 2nd degree murder in 2018 killing

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November 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found an Ottumwa man guilty of second-degree murder in the 2018 killing of another man. Station KTVO reports that 19-year-old Jacob Heckethorn was also found guilty Wednesday of assault with intent to commit serious injury in the Aug. 23, 2018, shooting death of 43-year-old William Shettlesworth, of Bloomfield.

Heckethorn had been on trial for first-degree murder, but the Wapellow County jury convicted on the reduced count after nearly two days of deliberation. Heckethorn had argued he shot Shettlesworth in self-defense as he tried to rescue a friend from a fight.

Heckethorn faces up to 50 years when he’s sentenced in January.