WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota man convicted of killing his wife’s grandmother after assaulting his wife was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.
Mitch Caffee, 39, of Wessington Springs, was originally charged with two dozen felony counts in the October 2021 incident. Authorities said it began when he broke into the Wessington Springs home of his wife’s mother, 90-year-old Lorraine Redmann, in order to confront his wife over his arrest for violating a no-contact order between the two.
A gun-toting Caffee pushed his wife onto a couch and then shot and killed Redmann when she came to check on the commotion. Caffee held his wife hostage for several hours before surrendering to authorities, according to court documents.
Caffee pleaded guilty last month to first degree manslaughter and aggravated assault.
The shooting resulted “in the tragic death of a well-respected member of the community,” Jerauld County State’s Attorney Dedrich Koch said. “The hope is this sentence will bring some closure to the family in this very difficult case.”