West Union, SC man sentenced to 17 years for voluntary manslaughter of wife

Tenth Circuit Court Judge James Williams sentenced a West Union, South Carolina man to 17 years in prison Wednesday. The man plead guilty to the shooting death of his wife after she told him that she was seeing another man. Because in SC, violent criminals must serve 85% of their sentence, Timothy Allen Bolt, 43, must serve 14 years of his sentence before early release, though 16 moths in jail have already by credited.

Bolt was originally charged with murder in the shooting of Charlie Ann Wood Bolt, 41, on March 9, 2008 at their home at 169 Town Road, West Union.

Assistant Tenth Circuit Solicitor David Wagner said Wednesday indications were that the Bolts had been involved in a domestic altercation and that Charlie Ann Bolt was informing her husband she was leaving him for another man when Timothy Bolt pulled a .45 cal. handgun from beneath his chair and shot her once through the head.

“It was done in the heat of passion,” Wagner said.

Julian Stoudemire, attorney for Bolt, said his client had little or no memory of the incident and alluded to the quantity of medications Bolt had been taking at the time as creating a different person than the man standing before the court.

“This was a very, very unfortunate incident,” Stoudemire said of the shooting and the aftermath.

Stoudemire said of his client that “He is not the type of person who would survive a long incarceration in some of our rougher prisons." Bolt himself said that he had been on anti anxiety medications at the time of the shooting.

"He’s my only child,” said Brenda Bolt, his mother. “I never had a minute’s trouble out of him.” Bolt, in white shirt and jeans, declined the chance to speak on his behalf, but through tears mumbled only, “I loved my wife.”

Before imposing sentence, Judge Williams said that “This is a bad case for everyone. We have two little girls without a mother or a father...I’m impressed by the people who spoke for you and by their sincerity.”

The Bolts' two daughters, ages 5 and 9, are in the care of relatives.