Christian County State's Attorney John McWard has issued a statement on the plea deal taken by Richard Klekamp.  Please see below.

As the Chief Legal Officer for the County, it is my duty to see over justice for our greater Christian County Community. Upon taking office in November of 2022, I was presented with the task of reviewing the multitude of cases that were pending before our Court with the focal point of seeking justice for victims of crimes.
Yesterday, March 22, 2023, Richard J. Klekamp, Jr. plead guilty to Count V, Second Degree Murder. While the public is not privy to the information contained in any files, I was elected and trusted to be the representative of Christian County’s Criminal Justice System. One of those tasks includes evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the Klekamp murder. As charged, the State would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Klekamp, at the time of the killing, was not under an intense passion resulting from a serious provocation by the victim, Alter Ivy.
At the time of the murder, Richard Klekamp’s brother and mother were being severely beaten by the victim, Alter Ivy. This, among other evidence of prior instances of Alter Ivy and his aggressiveness towards the Klekamp family would come out at trial. The cumulative evidence that would be presented at trial would overwhelmingly outweigh a verdict of First Degree Murder.
However, after review of the evidence and hours of conversation with Special Prosecutor Havera, a plea of guilt to Second Degree Murder is justice for the Ivy family. With this plea, Christian County is reminded that guns and violence in our community will not be tolerated.
I would like to thank all responding agencies, which included ISP and Christian County Sheriff’s Department. But specifically Chief Dwayne Wheeler of Taylorville Police Department and his officer's who secured justice on behalf of the Ivy family. Finally, I would like to thank Special Prosecutor Mike Havera, former Christian County State’s Attorney, for his guidance, wisdom and direction to ensure justice for the Ivy family.
 

To see the original Press release, click here.