In the spring of 2020, a sense of unease settled over the Donegal Pointe Apartments in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Residents began to notice a persistent and unpleasant odor emanating from one of the units, a smell that prompted a call to the police on Monday, April 27th. Responding to the welfare check, officers made a grim discovery inside the apartment on South Rolling Green Avenue.
The body of a White female, 63-year-old Teresa Ann Cate, was found, and it was immediately apparent that her death was not from natural causes.
Investigators quickly determined that Teresa had been the victim of a homicide, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound. The condition of her body suggested that she had been deceased for some time, with estimates placing her death within the previous ten days. As the Sioux Falls Police Department delved into the investigation, their attention soon focused on a person of interest who was close to the victim. The evidence led them to Teresa's own son, 36-year-old Anthony Lee-Nicholas Pritchard.
The day after his mother's body was discovered, Anthony Pritchard was taken into custody by law enforcement. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Teresa Cate. At the time of his arrest for the homicide, Pritchard was already facing an unrelated misdemeanor charge in a neighboring county. The investigation revealed that Pritchard had been living with his mother in the apartment where her body was ultimately found. Following his arrest, a bond was set at half a million dollars. Teresa Ann Cate, a retired registered nurse remembered as a trustworthy and kind friend, was born in Spencer, Iowa, and had attended nursing school in Omaha, Nebraska, before a career that saw her practice in several hospitals.
