One of the two men charged with murder in the September 2022 shooting death of a former Waterloo resident has pleaded guilty in Seneca County Court.
The Finger Lakes Times reports Wayne Ellison, Junior pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday just as his and co-defendant Christopher Kesterson’s trial was set to begin. Kesterson’s trial resumed with jury selection on Tuesday.
Both men were arrested in connection with the shooting death of William Waugh at a home on Route 96 in Waterloo. Waugh, who resided in Texas, was back visiting friends for a wedding when he was killed. Police say a bar fight that night was the likely motive for the murder. Both suspects fled following the shooting. Kesterson was arrested hours later in Geneva, while Ellison, who lives in Waterloo, was captured in Tampa, Florida.
The first trial in December for both defendants was declared a mistrial due to a procedural error. It was originally set to begin last August but was postponed after Seneca County District Attorney Mark Sinkiewicz turned over additional evidence just as the trial was set to start.
