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Elkhorn bar shooting, man gets life in prison
An Elkhorn man was sentenced to life in prison – without the possibility of parole – for killing newlyweds Emerson and Gina Weingart inside a bar last year.
ELKHORN, Wis. - An Elkhorn man was sentenced to life in prison – without the possibility of parole – on Friday for killing newlyweds Emerson and Gina Weingart inside a bar last year.
Life in prison
In Court:
Thomas Routt, 58, was previously convicted of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon.
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He was sentenced to life in prison for each homicide count.
Gina and Emerson Weingart (Courtesy: Leland Weingart)
"Emerson never had a chance to start a family, never had the opportunity be an uncle, never had the opportunity to be a father," a loved one of the victims said in court. "All of the things we look forward to as we grow older, that man took it all away from Emerson and took it all away from Gina."
Routt was given a chance to speak but declined.
Original reporting (February 2024)
According to a criminal complaint, Elkhorn police were dispatched to Sports Page Barr for a report of shots being fired around 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2024. When a police sergeant arrived on the scene, he spotted the bodies of two victims, later identified as 33-year-old Emerson Weingart and 37-year-old Gina Weingart.
Friends and family previously told FOX6 News the two were recently married. A friend said Gina was a bartender at Sports Page Barr, and Emerson was there to keep her company when the shooting happened.
Sports Page Barr
The sergeant also spotted two spent shell casings and a bullet on the floor, per the complaint. The cash register behind the bar had the drawer open, and the cash tray was empty.
A detective spoke with a third victim who was in the bar at the time of the shooting. The complaint states she said there was also a man in the bar who appeared to be in his 50s or 50s. That man was using a video gaming machine at the bar and, at some point, stood up from the gaming machine, pointed a gun and fired shots inside the bar.
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The complaint indicates Walworth County sheriff's deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Routt in the town of LaFayette around 3:20 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2024. Routt was found to be in possession of contraband, the complaint said, and he was taken to the Walworth County Jail.
On Feb. 6, the complaint states Routt "requested to speak with someone regarding the homicides in Elkhorn." When Routt spoke to a detective, prosecutors said he admitted to being the man with the gun at Sports Page Barr. Routt also said he did all of this "more than likely for the money," according to the complaint. A bartender "told (Routt) to 'put it away or she'd call the cops,'" he said per the complaint.
Routt then said the bartender "slapped the gun and it went off," the complaint states. He said he then shot the man who was sitting at the bar. Routt said "he took $120-$140 from the open cash register" before shooting the man again. He then "admitted to following the fleeing female (third victim) out the back door and firing two of three shots at her," according to the complaint.
Prosecutors said Routt told investigators he went home after the shooting and tried to get rid of the gun and ammunition at a gas station the next morning. A search at the gas station turned up a handgun and ammunition, which were found in bags in the gas station's dumpster.
Thomas Routt's background
Dig deeper:
FOX6 News dug into Routt's background and learned he previously spent nearly 25 years in prison for setting his ex-mother-in-law's home on fire in 1995. He received parole in 2020, and later enrolled at Gateway Technical College and won the honor of being the Elkhorn campus' ambassador, a student chosen to represent the campus.
During a speech, he said being molested as a child led him down a spiraling path, but prison helped him turn his life around. That was in 2023.
Walworth County trial
Timeline:
- Elkhorn shooting, newlywed couple killed; jury trial begins
- Elkhorn shooting, newlyweds killed; Thomas Routt trial testimony begins
- Elkhorn shooting, newlyweds killed; 4+ hours of interviews with accused
- Elkhorn shooting, newlyweds killed; crime scene photos, DNA evidence
The Source: FOX6 has extensively reported on the shooting and trial. Court information is publicly available on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.