Decorah man sentenced to 50 years for killing father

DECORAH, Iowa (KCRG) - On Wednesday, a judge sentenced a man from Decorah to 50 years in prison for second-degree murder.

A jury found Aaron Whittle guilty of murdering his father Lawrence Whittle back in March 2022 in the 2600 block of Sand Rock Road. Court documents stated that Aaron told police he fatally shot his father while being interviewed in the aftermath of the incident. Investigators at the scene also said that the crime scene was consistent with what Aaron had described to them.

In a plea for a new trial, Whittle argued some evidence shouldn’t have been allowed at trial and that prosecutors didn’t prove second-degree murder. 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 imposed a 50-year prison sentence on Aaron, with no chance of parole for the first 70 percent of his prison term, or 35 years. He must also pay $150,000 in restitution to the estate of Larry Whittle.