Teresa Ann Cate

Teresa Ann Cate was a retired registered nurse remembered by those who knew her as an amazing and trustworthy friend with a forgiving soul. Born in Spencer, Iowa, the 63-year-old White female attended nursing school in Omaha, Nebraska, and went on to a career where she practiced in several hospitals. She was living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the spring of 2020.

On Monday, April 27, 2020, police received a call about a persistent foul odor coming from a unit at the Donegal Pointe Apartments on South Rolling Green Avenue. When officers conducted a welfare check, they discovered Teresa’s body inside. Due to the condition of her remains, an autopsy was required to learn more. The results confirmed that her death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound. Investigators estimated that she had been deceased for up to ten days, placing her death sometime between April 16 and April 27.

The Sioux Falls Police Department investigation quickly led them to a person of interest who lived with Teresa in the apartment: her 36-year-old son, Anthony Lee-Nicholas Pritchard. The day after his mother’s body was found, Pritchard was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder in connection with her shooting death. At the time of his arrest, he was already facing an unrelated misdemeanor charge in a neighboring county. A judge set his bond at $500,000 cash.

On May 20, 2021, Anthony Pritchard pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 90 years in prison with 30 years suspended and was given credit for 388 days already served. With this conviction and sentence, the case was officially closed as of May 2021.