Woman who smiled in viral mugshot cries during sentencing for fatal car crash

Elise Solé
Angenette Marie Welk, 45, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a 2018 three-way car crash in Florida that left one woman dead. (Photo: Twitter/Marion County Sheriff’s Office/Jail)
Angenette Marie Welk, 45, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a 2018 three-way car crash in Florida that left one woman dead. (Photo: Twitter/Marion County Sheriff’s Office/Jail)

Angenette Marie Welk, whose relaxed, grinning mugshot went viral, cried in a Florida courtroom during her manslaughter sentencing.

Welk, of Ocala, who also goes by her married name Missett, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, a $5,000 fine and 15 years of probation for causing a three-car crash that killed 60-year-old Sandra Clarkston, according to Fox 35.

On May 10th, 2018, on a Florida highway, Welk’s Chevy Avalanche crashed into a car driven by Shiyanne Kroll, 18, of Seattle, and her mother Sandra Clarkston, 60. Kroll’s car slammed into a horse trailer hitched to Ocala resident Kevin McMinn’s truck. Both Kroll and McMinn were not seriously harmed, but Clarkston died at Ocala Regional Medical Center.

Spokespeople from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office did not return a records request by Yahoo Lifestyle in time for publication. Villages-News reports that on the scene, Welk acted lethargic, slurred her words and smelled like alcohol. Two field sobriety tests showed her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit in Florida (.08).

Welk’s mugshot was deemed “astonishing” by the internet — but defense attorney Stacy Youmans described her client as “a good-hearted person, a wife, mother and friend who is devastated by what happened.” Welk was arrested again on a DUI charge, yielding a less-cheery mugshot on May 19, 2018.

A week after the crash, Welk married Eric John Missett, 46, at Ocala Community Church of Christ, reported Ocala-News, having quickly obtained their marriage license from the Marion County Clerk’s office. The couple then moved to Washington state, with a judge’s permission.

According to Fox 35, the family of Clarkston towed their wrecked car to the Marion County courtroom on Thursday. “I am truly, truly sorry. [If I could] change spots with your mother, I would in a heartbeat,” Welk told the family during the sentencing. I am sorry, I am sorry, I am truly, truly sorry.”

Click Orlando also reported that Welk said, "I would like to start by saying how sorry I am for this tragic loss. You’ve lost a mother, a sister, an aunt, a loved one. I don’t have the words.” At another point she said, “Moments before the collision, my phone slipped out of my hands and I saw a car and I swerved.”

The issue of Welk’s famous mugshot was reportedly broached on Thursday, with a friend saying, "The person who smiled in that mugshot is not the person that I know.”

Welk’s attorney also prompted her client to explain why she smiled: "How do you act when you get nervous?" Welk answered, "I smile and giggle.” The attorney did not return an interview request from Yahoo Lifestyle.

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