In the quiet community of Black Canyon City, Arizona, the life of 42-year-old Janine Appleford was cut short in a tragic and violent incident. On Tuesday, January 12, 2016, inside a home on Mud Springs Road, Janine was fatally shot. The initial report of the incident came not from a place of immediate panic, but with a delayed and somber admission.
It wasn't until after the sun had risen that a neighbor was alerted to the grim situation and a call was finally placed to the Yavapai County
Sheriff's Office. When deputies arrived at the residence in the early afternoon, they found Janine, who had evidently been deceased for a number of hours. The scene pointed to a violent end, and the focus of the investigation quickly turned to her boyfriend, 47-year-old Wayde Chaulklin.
In his account to the authorities, Chaulklin portrayed the shooting as a horrific accident. He claimed he had been carrying a rifle when it inadvertently struck a table and discharged. He told investigators he saw Janine fall to the floor, and in the moments that followed, his only action was to cover her with a blanket. He made no attempt to call for medical help, a decision that would later be scrutinized by law enforcement.
As the investigation delved deeper, detectives noted inconsistencies in Chaulklin's story, though he consistently asserted that the shooting was unintentional. During his arrest, authorities discovered he was in possession of methamphetamine. Wayde Chaulklin was taken into custody and booked into the Camp Verde Detention Center, where he faced a charge of second-degree murder for the death of Janine Appleford.
