Poplar Bluff man found guilty of 2nd degree murder of girlfriend

DUNKLIN COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - A Poplar Bluff man faces life in prison in the shooting death of his girlfriend.

A Dunklin County jury found Michael J. Choate, 46, guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action on Wednesday, April 20.

According to Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor, the jury deliberated for nearly four hours.

Choate was on trial for the death of his girlfriend, 37-year-old Katrina Suiter, in August 2019.

Emergency crews were called to a camper trailer parked off of County Road 476 in Butler County for an accidental shooting.

According to Proctor, authorities found the victim dead and seated on a couch with a gunshot wound to the head and a semi-automatic pistol in her hand.

Proctor said investigators did not believe Choate’s claims that the victim shot her self and that he contradicted himself multiple times about what happened.

Choate is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16.

He is facing life in prison on the second degree murder charge and an additional fifteen years for armed criminal action.

Copyright 2022 KFVS. All rights reserved.