The niece of the Florence man killed in July 2020 said her uncle had threatened to kill her and was coming at her when he was fatally shot in his home.
Danylle Shatto said John Achterkirch, 64, had just assaulted her fiancé, Mark Nielsen, when Achterkirch began approaching her, which led to Nielsen shooting him in the head.
“By that time, I had been paying rent and bills,” she told the jury Thursday. “We were in discussions about purchasing the home.” She told her uncle that Johnson had been arrested and he texted her telling her to get out of his house. By the time he arrived home from work at about 9:51 p.m., he was angry, she said.She and her uncle started to argue about him wanting her out of the house. Nielsen, who was standing behind the bar, told Achterkirch they should talk about it.
“It appeared to me to be male and female ,” he said. “After 10 minutes, I heard a gunshot and then it got really quiet. I sat there for four or five minutes trying to decide whether I should call the police department or not. I just got up to call and I heard a siren coming.”