Echo Leanne Welte was 41 when she was killed in Kirksville, Missouri, on November 17, 2016. She had been staying at a Days Inn on South Baltimore Street while separated from her husband, Danny Charles Welte Sr., and the couple had spent the day grieving their 19-year-old son, Danny Jr., who had died by suicide four days earlier. Later that evening a heated argument in the hotel parking lot escalated; a bystander intervened after hearing Echo scream and tried to escort her toward the hotel lobby.

According to investigators, Danny Welte pursued Echo armed with a handgun. The weapon reportedly jammed several times before he cleared it and fired a single fatal shot into the back of her head as she neared the building. Echo was pronounced dead at the scene. Danny Welte fled but surrendered about 90 minutes later and was arrested. He was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action; sentencing came after the verdict. Echo, born August 21, 1975, left three surviving children and a stepson.

If anyone knew Echo or witnessed events at the Days Inn that night, please share what you know.