CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A jury on Friday found a Chesapeake man guilty of fatally shooting his estranged wife last year.
Police said Ben Wynkoop, 46, shot and killed 44-year-old Kathryn Dean inside her home on Willow Oak Drive on April 4, 2022.
The Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney said Wynkoop was found guilty on all charges which included second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, armed burglary, and violation of a protective order.
Prior to the start of the trial, Wynkoop pleaded not guilty to seven separate charges related to Dean's death. His attorneys said Wynkoop was offered plea deals but declined.
The charges include first-degree murder, armed burglary, several firearm charges, and violation of a protective order, which Dean obtained just weeks before she was killed.
The Chesapeake mother called 911 just minutes before she was killed and proceeding Monday's trial, lawyers went back and forth on if the call should be given to the jury, as listeners can hear Dean being left to die and taking her last breaths.
On that day, police quickly named Wynkoop as a person of interest and arrested him several hours later.
The couple was married for about three years and court documents show there was a history of abuse.
Family members tell News 3 that Dean was kind-hearted and did not deserve what happened to her. She leaves behind two children and three stepkids.
Wynkoop will be sentenced at later date.
