Jessica Lee Callahan, 20, was found guilty Thursday, July 18, of third-degree murder in the March 2023 shooting death of 31-year-old Tyler Whitlatch.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours before finding Callahan, of Hilliards, guilty on the fourth day of her trial in Common Pleas Court.

Judge Joseph Kubit ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for Aug. 16.

Whitlatch’s family declined to comment, but assistant district attorney Mark Lope said he respects the jury’s decision and believes the evidence supports the verdict.

“But it’s still a tragedy. We have a young man who’s dead and a young woman convicted of third-degree murder,” Lope said.

Defense attorney J.W. Hernandez-Cuebas said Callahan should have been found not guilty, but that a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter would have been more appropriate.

He said he will look at issues to determine if an appeal will be filed.

State police charged Callahan with shooting Whitlatch with a shotgun containing buckshot in the yard of her home following an argument.

A forensic pathologist testified Tuesday that Whitlatch was shot in the back, with two shotgun shell pellets striking him in the back, one entering his armpit, and a fourth striking his shoulder.

A state trooper testified about photos he took of the bush or tree in the yard that showed eight apparent strikes from pellets. Police recovered a spent shotgun shell in the yard 56 feet from where Whitlatch’s phone was found. The phone was found near the road.

Callahan testified Wednesday that she grabbed a shotgun and walked out of the house following an argument, and that Whitlatch walked out of the house after her and was headed toward the road. She said she shot toward the bush when he stopped and turned toward her.

She said she started driving him to Butler Memorial Hospital but pulled over at the North Washington Rodeo grounds on Route 38, removed him from the car and administered CPR while talking to a 911 dispatcher.

Callahan admitted to giving police two false accounts of the shooting before telling the truth. She said Whitlatch was abusive toward her.

She said she has been shooting shotguns since she was 5-years-old and won shooting competitions.

Her cellmate in the county prison testified Tuesday that Callahan told her that she hid behind the bush and fired at Whitlatch, and that she should have removed his teeth and taken his body to a pig farm. The cellmate, Deane Petzel, said Callahan drew a sketch of the yard depicting where she and Whitlatch were when the shooting took place. Petzel kept the sketch, which was used as evidence.

Petzel is serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty to a federal mail fraud charge and is waiting to be sentenced in a federal wire fraud case.

Before closing arguments Thursday, Callahan’s sister Amber Walsh testified as a defense witness, saying she and Whitlatch had a confrontation when they dated in 2015.

Defense witness Frank Servino of Hilliards testified that sometime before the shooting, Callahan drove him to a bank and Whitlatch came along. He said Callahan had a bloody nose when he returned to her car, and she told him that Whitlatch hit her with a bottle of water. He said Whitlatch walked away.

Jordan Titus, who has a son with Whitlatch, and Brianna Reed, who was once engaged to Whitlatch, testified for the prosecution. Both said Whitlatch was not violent toward them.

In his closing argument, Hernandez-Cuebas said Callahan fired the gun at the bush as a warning shot and hit Whitlatch accidentally.

“This was a tragic accident,” Hernandez-Cuebas said.

He said the shooting was justified as a warning shot and took place after Whitlatch turned toward Callahan. He also cited her shooting experience.

“If she wanted to hit him, she could,” Hernandez-Cuebas said.

He argued that the cellmate testified as she did to get a lenient sentence.

The assistant district attorney said in his closing that Callahan lied repeatedly during the investigation and during her testimony. Lope said she intended to kill Whitlatch with malice and urged the jury to convict her of first degree murder.

“Jessica Callahan shot her boyfriend in the back from 56 feet way,” Lope said.

He said the domestic violence reported by Callahan was not serious enough to cause someone to kill, and the other women who had relationships with him said he was not violent.

As an award winning shooter, Callahan knew not to aim a gun without knowing what was behind her intended target, he said

“She killed him because she could. She knew exactly what she was doing,” Lope said.

He said Whitlatch left Callahan’s home fully clothed and indicated that their argument had ended, but she ran out of the house wearing a bra, pants and no shoes because “she wouldn’t let it be over.”

“This is first-degree murder,” Lope said.