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Man gets prison term; murder still unsolved

A slain woman's ex-boyfriend is sentenced in a drug trafficking case.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published November 29, 2005

LARGO - Niccole Halpin's name never was mentioned in court Monday. But in some ways, she was everywhere.

A masked man dressed in black murdered Halpin in her Safety Harbor home two years ago. The intruder attacked and beat Halpin in front of her two young sons. No one has been charged with the killing.

Detectives came to investigate Halpin's ex-boyfriend, Daniel P. Welch. Halpin, 32, had complained to family that Welch was pestering her. She considered a restraining order. Welch also could not confirm his whereabouts the night of the killing.

During the investigation, detectives began to suspect Welch also was illegally selling prescription drugs. He was charged with drug trafficking and convicted last month.

Though Welch never had been convicted of a crime before, prosecutors asked a judge to give him the maximum sentence, 60 years in prison, for the drug charges. Welch's defense attorneys accused prosecutors of trying to punish Welch for a murder that they never charged him with committing.

On Monday, Judge Linda Allan sentenced Welch to 31/2 years in prison, the minimum sentence allowed. Allan noted before announcing her decision that she could only consider evidence presented in court.

Still, Halpin's parents sat in the courtroom Monday. They flew here from their Massachusetts home to attend the sentencing. Halpin's mother also had attended the trial. She hugged prosecutors after the sentencing hearing.

Halpin's parents believe Welch soon will be charged with their daughter's killing. Prosecutors said they could not comment on that.

"This is the beginning of the end for Dan," said Halpin's father, Nelson Gomm. "In my mind, she's haunting this thing now to make sure it's getting done. He thought he could get away with it."

During the sentencing, several friends and family members of Welch stood to tell Allan he's a good person. They described how he helped friends in need, how he drove his 78-year-old grandfather to the doctor, how he doted on his young son and other children in the family.

"My son has always made me proud," said Helen Boitano, Welch's mother.

Welch, 37, also has a pending grand theft charge in which he is suspected of stealing from a local department store.

Pinellas sheriff's detectives have not named Welch a suspect, but they have said they cannot confirm his whereabouts the night of the murder. The detective investigating the murder attended the sentencing Monday.

Welch's attorneys, Denis de Vlaming and Roger Futerman, claimed Welch was set up and entrapped.

They also claimed prosecutors were urging the judge to overly punish Welch for a crime with which he was not charged. De Vlaming called it "the Al Capone treatment," referring to the Chicago gangster's prosecution for tax evasion instead of the murders he was suspected of ordering.

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys said a word about the murder case in court Monday. Prosecutor Kendall Davidson said the state was seeking a heavy sentence because Welch was out on bond when he sold the drugs; and because there was evidence he had sold drugs many times.

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 02:15:28]