Sheriff: Earlville man fired shots at escaping woman, child

Authorities said they received information that Christopher John Wuchter, 37, Earlville, had hit Kayla Marie Prichard and was now leaving the house in a red semi-truck.

Documents state that Wuchter and Prichard had been dating for five years and shared a residence but do not share any children together.

Authorities later located Wuchter where he admitted that he was upset with Prichard for not picking him up at work.

Wuchter told authorities he had pulled the covers off the bed Prichard was laying in and made her get ready to go pick him up. Wuchter added that he had pushed her along as they were leaving the house to make her go faster.

When asked about the incident, Prichard said Wuchter pulled her out of bed by the hair to the ground and then threatened her.

“She said Christopher told her their kids would witness a murder if she didn’t go faster,” documents state.

Prichard told police she was afraid Wuchter would kill her because he had firearms and had made similar statements before.

During the interview about the Jan. 9 incident, authorities learned that on Aug. 22, 2022, there was an argument that resulted in Wuchter wanting Prichard and her children to leave.

During the argument, documents state Wuchter was pushing Prichard around, prompting Prichard’s juvenile son to step in and tell Wuchter to stop assaulting his mother.

Wuchter then pushed the son against a door by the throat, causing injuries to his back, documents state. A photo of the injury was provided to authorities.

Prichard then told Wuchter to stop, at which point documents state he pushed her over a bed, then grabbed her and shoved her into her son, causing the son to get a bloody nose.

Prichard left the house with her daughter and as they were leaving, Prichard said she saw Wuchter point a firearm at them from the house.

The juvenile son’s girlfriend was at the house that night and corroborated Prichard’s account, documents state.

The girlfriend, who was in the hallway outside of the room where Wuchter was located, told authorities she witnessed Wuchter fire three shots toward Prichard through an open window.

Prichard told authorities she and her daughter ran to a neighboring property to hide in some trees after being shot at.

A search warrant application for the residence also states Prichard told authorities Wuchter had previously held a handgun to the back of her head.

While executing the warrant, authorities seized eight handguns of various calibers, 12 rifles and 10 shotguns.

Police also seized multiple fraudulent currency denominations, including 72 $1 bills, 23 $20 bills, 18 $50 bills, 40 $100 bills type one and 26 $100 bills type two.

Numerous marijuana and methamphetamine paraphernalia were located, including marijuana seeds and plant material “found in grow room.”

Wuchter is facing charges of three counts domestic abuse assault first offense, harassment first degree, assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, assault causing bodily injury, child endangerment and attempted murder.

Court records show Wuchter had an initial appearance Jan. 17 and was appointed a public defender. A no-contact order was put in place between the parties involved.