Post-Pageant Attack Garners Conviction on Lesser Charges

A former beauty queen accused of arming herself with a pistol, knife and hammer to kill a romantic rival and the other woman’s family was convicted Tuesday of reduced charges of trying to murder the woman’s parents.

Tracy Lippard, 23, could get up to 6 1/2 years in prison when she is sentenced Jan. 4.

A jury deliberated two days before finding her guilty of two misdemeanor counts of second-degree attempted murder and five other misdemeanors.

Lippard was originally charged with 10 counts, including three felony counts of first-degree attempted murder, carrying up to 30 years in prison.

“It was a heat-of-the-moment thing,” juror Jane Metheney said.

Prosecutors said the 6-foot blonde from Newport News, Va., crowned her successor as Miss Williamsburg on Feb. 26, then drove 250 miles to Lewisburg armed with the pistol, butcher knife, hammer and lighter fluid, intending to kill Melissa Weikle and her parents, Rodney and Lynn Weikle.

Rodney Weikle, a former Secret Service agent, disarmed her after she whacked him on the head with the hammer.

Lippard and Melissa Weikle were dating Todd Scott, and Weikle was eight months’ pregnant with Scott’s child. Weikle and Scott have since married.

Under state law, first-degree attempted murder involves intent, while the second-degree charge involves actions that are “more impulsive than deliberate,” prosecutor Richard Lorensen said.

Lippard showed no emotion when the verdict was read but was near tears outside court afterward. “I’m very sorry I put the Weikles through this,” she said. Lippard was released on $42,000 bail.

Her rival said the verdict “makes no sense.”

“I think she was more apt to kill me than my parents,” Mrs. Scott said. “I’m always going to have to look over my shoulder. Always. I’m sure I’ll still have a few nightmares.”

Lippard contended she went to Lewisburg simply to confront her boyfriend. Her lawyer, Paul Detch, said Lippard was upset because Scott didn’t keep a promise to attend the Miss Williamsburg pageant, where she dedicated a song to him.