Joseph Wielzen.

This guy raped the victim, beat her to death with a baseball bat and then dumped her corpse in a trash can.

He may not be a nigger (I don’t know what he is), but he certainly has the spirit of one.

Chattanooga Times Free Press:

The man convicted in the 2017 rape and murder of 18-year-old Kelsey N. Burnette in McMinn County, Tennessee, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In Tennessee, a life sentence with parole is 51 years, but in Joseph Wielzen’s case, he won’t be released, court officials said.

Jurors who convicted Wielzen on Wednesday were tasked Thursday with determining whether he will serve a life sentence with or without parole during a hearing in McMinn County Criminal Court before Judge Sandra Donaghy. Both the state and defense rested their cases by early Thursday afternoon.

David and Virginia “Sissy” Burnette, the parents of the victim, both said they were satisfied with the sentence and thankful to the prosecutors, investigators and “everybody who worked so hard.”

“I’m happy with the decision,” David Burnette said. “It’s been a lot of stress on the family.”

“We’ll be able to sleep a little better now that this is over,” Sissy Burnette said.

Wielzen’s father, Perry Wielzen, declined comment.

Wielzen, 19, was convicted of first-degree felony murder and rape in Burnette’s death. “Felony murder” is a count of murder that occurs during the commission of another felony crime, in this case, aggravated rape.

Kelsey Burnette, left.

Kelsey Burnette and Joseph Wielzen.

I wasn’t sure of this man’s race, so I went on VINELink to get an answer.

A few minutes of searching, and…

Ah, white.

Just as I suspected.

NewsChannel9:

Joseph Wielzen is back in court Wednesday, as a judge continues to hear the motion to dismiss the case.

He’s charged with the 2017 rape and murder of Kelsey Burnette.

Wielzen’s attorneys say he’s innocent and his right to a speedy trial has been violated.

The crime happened more than two years ago on July 1st, 2017. Wielzen wasn’t formally charged until June of 2018, and wasn’t indicted until July of 2019.

But the state argues they’ve acted as quick as possible to figure out who killed Burnette.

On Friday, attorneys for both the state and the defense argued and even yelled at each other in the courtroom.

The defense called the TBI agent in charge of the case to testify. He said he has several homicide cases that have lasted more than two years like this one.

From an earlier report:

Burnette’s body was found July 1, 2017, by a passerby “stuffed in a trash can in a nearby alley,” records state. The final autopsy report showed fragments of her skull contained remnants of red and black paint officials said was consistent with the paint on the recovered bat. Burnette “was likely beaten to death using the baseball bat,” according to documents.

The autopsy showed that the main cause of her death was blunt-force head trauma including “multiple severe blows to the head,” and she had a “penetrating wound” on her left arm, documents state. The autopsy also showed Burnette had injuries the pathologist said were “evidence of sexual assault,” records state.

Joseph Wielzen and Kelsey Burnette.

He was caught throwing eggs at people’s property, lol.

Just bored I guess.

What else is a colored chap going to do while he’s waiting for a brutal rape and murder trial?

Times Free Press:

A McMinn County, Tennessee, man charged with the rape and murder of an 18-year-old Etowah woman will remain in jail after he was arrested for vandalism last month.

In May, Joseph R. Wielzen was arrested along with Victor L. Felix after they were identified as occupants of a dark Jeep Cherokee from which eggs were hurled at a couple of residents’ cars and a house. Police found the Jeep with egg yolk running down the window, court records state.

…

At the time of his arrest, Wielzen had been out on bond while awaiting trial for the 2017 rape and killing of Kelsey N. Burnette.

He was charged in that case but had been released on the reduced bond of $30,000 after his case was transferred to adult court. He was not required to wear an ankle monitor, but he was ordered to not use or possess illegal intoxicants, commit any new criminal offenses or have contact with Burnette’s family, court records show.

But last month’s vandalism charges violated those conditions.

During Tuesday’s hearing before Judge Sandra Donaghy, Wielzen’s bond was revoked and he was ordered to remain in jail during the hearing before Judge Sandra Donaghy, according to McMinn County Circuit Court officials.

The homicide case is now nearing two years old.

Burnette, who graduated from McMinn Central High School a couple of months before her death and worked at the local McDonald’s restaurant, was reported missing by her family on July 1, 2017.

She was last seen walking through Etowah around 5 a.m. that day. Her body was found by a passerby on Charles Street on July 4, 2017, and identified two days later.