LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. — The man who was accused of crashing his truck into a creek and leaving his girlfriend to die admitted to the crime in a plea deal this week.
Cole McCall will spend the next 20 years in prison after agreeing to a plea deal, according to Lincoln County Prosecutor Michael Wood.
McCall was charged with second-degree murder, forgery, tampering with a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash and stealing a vehicle in connection with the January 2020 drowning death of Jennelle Wulfmeier. As part of the deal, McCall pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and one count of stealing a motor vehicle.
Wood said he discussed the plea deal with Wulfmeier's family and they agreed it was fair.
"I am saddened by the loss of life for this child and my heart goes out to her family," Wood said in a statement. "Given the circumstances involved and after discussions with the family of the victim, we believed that 20 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections was an appropriate sentence, and that justice would be adequately served."
The incident occurred on Jan. 11, 2020. Police said McCall met up with a man to pay for a car he agreed to buy earlier in the night. McCall was $100 short, so the men agreed McCall would pay $50 and also give the man some tools.
The man realized the money was fake, so he started following McCall, who was driving a Chevy Silverado, to get his license plate number. Wulfmeier was in the passenger seat.
McCall sped away down 7th Street, hit a levee and went airborne. The truck landed in a flooded creek, and McCall was able to get out as it was sinking.
McCall ran away and yelled at the man to call 911 because his girlfriend was still in the truck, police said.
The witness called for help, but emergency crews could not find the truck that night because the creek was swollen. Wulfmeier, who was 20 years old, drowned.
McCall ran away from the sinking truck and stole a vehicle about four blocks away from the crash scene, according to police. He then crashed that car in St. Charles, where police realized the vehicle had been stolen and took him into custody.