A Poplar Bluff man was found guilty of murder and armed criminal action. Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey L. Proctor tells KWOC News, 46 year old Michael J. Choate, was found guilty by a Dunklin County jury of the offenses of murder 2nd degree and armed criminal action.

The charges stem from an incident that took place in August of 2019 at a camper trailer parked off of County Road 476 in Butler County. Deputy’s responded to the scene in reference to a call involving an accidental gunshot victim. Michael Choate himself was the caller and the victim was the defendant’s girlfriend for the previous three years. Upon arrival, deputies entered the camper and found the victim to be deceased and seated on the couch with a single gunshot wound to her head.

Four witnesses who were family members or friends of the victim and defendant testified that the defendant repeatedly assaulted and threatened the victim throughout their three-year relationship. Two of the witnesses testified that the defendant had threatened the victim with a firearm in the past.

The jury deliberated for nearly four hours before it returned a guilty verdict for the Class A felony of Murder in the Second Degree and the unclassified felony of Armed Criminal Action. The defendant is facing life in prison on Murder in the Second Degree and additional fifteen years for Armed Criminal Action. Sentencing is set for June 16, 2022, in Dunklin County.