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Iraq War Veteran Gets 30 Years For Murder

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 29, 2009

David Wilson

CLEARWATER - An Iraq war veteran has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend in St. Petersburg two years ago, according to prosecutors and police documents.

David Wilson, 25, was originally charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ian Lawson, 23. But, with the consent of Lawson's family, Wilson was allowed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for the 30-year sentence, said Assistant State Attorney Tom Koskinas.

Had Wilson been convicted of first-degree murder, he would have faced a life sentence, Koskinas said.

Among the things taken into consideration while working on the plea agreement were Wilson's military service and his lack of a criminal record, the prosecutor said.

Pinellas Circuit Judge Thane Covert sentenced Wilson on Tuesday.

On June 15, 2007, Lawson was sitting on the front porch of the home he shared with his mother when Wilson walked up to the house and shot him with a 9mm handgun, hitting him in the head and neck, the report states.

Lawson was in intensive care for 11 days before he died, the report says. Had he lived, he would have been a quadriplegic since one bullet penetrated his spinal cord, the report states.

It is unclear why Wilson shot Lawson. On the one hand, Wilson reportedly claimed Lawson threatened to kill a child Wilson had with a woman other than his then-current girlfriend, Katherine Vonkaenel. But that couldn't be corroborated, Koskinas said.

"We really don't know what his true motivation was," Koskinas said.

Police reports say Lawson was trying to get back with Vonkaenel. Hours before the shooting, Vonkaenel told investigators, Ian Lawson called her. He feared he was about to be sent to prison for repeatedly violating his probation on a hydrocodone-possession charge, and he wanted to see her one last time before he was put behind bars, the report states.

One piece of evidence that incriminated Wilson in the slaying was a video taken by a surveillance camera installed outside the home of a neighbor of Lawson's, the police report states. The video captured Wilson's mother's car casing the Lawson household one hour before the homicide, the police report states.

One of the hubcaps on the 2003 silver Suzuki Forenza was missing, the video shows. In an apparent attempt to deflect suspicion, Wilson later took the other three off, the police report states. At another point, Wilson tried to divert investigators' interest toward another man Vonkaenel had had a relationship with.

Later, when it was apparent he was the prime suspect, he fled in the direction of Mexico, but was captured outside Corpus Christi, Texas.

Wilson, who, at the time of the slaying was working at a St. Petersburg pizza parlor with Vonkaenel, claimed to have become insane because of his involvement in the Gulf War, the police report states.

He was a reservist with the U.S. Marine Corps, and had performed two years of service, according to what Vonkaenel told police.

Amy Whaley, the mother of Wilson's child, told police Wilson was affected by his military service. She said he had mock wars in their home when they lived together. He also abused cocaine and alcohol, she told police, and threatened to "blow her brains out," the police report states.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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