Monica Lynn Van Laer, a 33-year-old Caucasian woman, was killed on November 2, 2014. Her death occurred as she was moving out of the apartment she shared with her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Christopher Wyant, who was 43 at the time.
Wyant was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of his former girlfriend. The prosecution asserted that the motive for the killing was their recent breakup.
It was argued that he had purposefully set out to kill Van Laer because she had ended their relationship.
During his trial, Wyant's defense attorney did not dispute that his client was responsible for the shooting. Instead, they opted for an insanity defense, claiming Wyant suffered from a mental disorder. The defense contended that a brain injury Wyant sustained in 1997 led to a neurocognitive disorder, which they argued was a factor in his actions when he shot Monica Van Laer.
