Decorah man sentenced to 50 years for killing father

(ABC 6 News) – A Decorah, Iowa man on Wednesday was sentenced to 50 years in prison for murdering his father.

On March 2, a jury convicted Aaron Whittle of second-degree murder in the killing of his father, 74-year-old Lawrence Whittle, in an incident that occurred in March 2022.

Court documents stated that during an interview with law enforcement officers in the aftermath of the incident, Aaron stated he fatally shot his father with a firearm. The complaint goes on to say observations by law enforcement at the scene were consistent with what Aaron had described to them.

Last month, Whittle asked for a new trial saying that some evidence shouldn’t have been allowed at trial and argued that prosecutors didn’t prove second degree murder.

Prosecutors say Aaron shot his father and tried covering it up by burning his body, and the gun used in the shooting. Aaron admitted to burning his dad’s body and the gun, but said the shooting was an accident. He said the two were handling the same gun during an argument over finances when it went off.

A judge stated that the Court could not determine that the jury’s verdict was contrary to the case’s evidence and that following an independent evaluation of the credibility of the witnesses, they overruled Whittle’s motion to dismiss the trial.

On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Aaron to 50 years in prison with no chance of parole for the first 70% of his prison term, or 35 years. He must also pay $150,000 in restitution to the estate of Larry Whittle.