Found Deceased WY - Shayna Ritthaler, 16, Moorcroft, 3 Oct 2019 *juvenile arrested*

JerseyGirl

Forum Coordinator
Staff member
Forum Coordinators
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
55,637
Reaction score
192,197
Update:
Police say that Shayna Ritthaler may now be travelling on foot in the area of Sturgis or Deadwood, possibly with with black dyed hair.

UPDATE: Wyoming police looking for missing girl in Black Hills area - KNBN NewsCenter1

Still1007_0000018.jpg
.
 
Found deceased. Criminal charges are pending.:(

MEADE CO., S.D. – A Moorcroft, WY teen who was reported missing Thursday, was found Monday deceased in a home outside of Sturgis.

According to the Meade County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant was executed Monday at a home in Blucksberg, an unincorporated community south of Sturgis. A body believed to be Shayna Ritthaler, 16, was found in a basement bedroom. Officials say an autopsy is scheduled later this week.

According to Ritthaler’s mother’s Facebook page, “she was found last night, shot.”

Missing teen found dead in residence outside of Sturgis - KNBN NewsCenter1
 
That makes the 2nd missing person from Moorcroft in less than a year, which seems somewhat odd for such a teeny tiny town.

Who was the first person? Was that another woman?

"Moorcroft, Wyoming, population 1009, is located in Northeastern Wyoming on the banks of the Belle Fourche River where the highway crossed the "Old Texas Trail". Moorcroft was the largest shipping point in the United States during the 1890's. Moorcroft is a bustling town historically based in ranching but which now serves the coal and oil industries as well. Here, the culture of the Old West is still evident."​

Town of Moorcroft
 
Being charged as an adult - good.

Sturgis teen to be charged as an adult in death of Wyoming girl

A 17-year-old will be charged in adult court after authorities discovered the body of girl who was previously reported missing out of Wyoming.

Michael Gavin Campbell made his initial court appearance on charges of second degree murder Wednesday morning, according to court documents.

...

The complaint filed in the case said the homicide occurred "on or between Oct. 4 and Oct. 7."

The Meade County Sheriff's Office has said it is not releasing a cause of death at this time, pending an autopsy scheduled for this week. Ritthaler's mother, MinDee Ritthaler, posted on Facebook that Shayna had been shot.

...
 
$1 million bond set in murder of Shayna Ritthaler near Sturgis
Campbell's attorneys asked for a $250,000 bond but Circuit Judge Kevin Krull set his bond at $1 million; saying the court finds the facts of the case particularly troubling.

In arguing bond, Meade County State's Attorney Michelle Bordewyk said that Campbell admitted to law enforcement that he and Ritthaler had an argument; the argument turned violent and he shot her.
 
Sturgis teen pleads guilty to killing missing Wyoming girl

May 7 2020
A Sturgis area teen accused of killing a missing Wyoming girl last fall has taken a plea deal.
Michael Gavin Campbell, 17, on Thursday pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in connection to the killing of 16-year-old Shayna Ritthaler.
Campbell was initially charged with second-degree murder. That charge is dismissed with the plea deal, which recommends a sentence of 55 years. A sentencing date was not known Thursday afternoon.
 

Sturgis teen pleads guilty to killing missing Wyoming girl


Few details about how Campbell and Ritthaler knew each other had been released up until this point, but some information was shared in court Thursday. (May 7)

The two had met online through a dating site called Badoo, Bordewyk said Thursday.

The two talked online for several weeks.
At some point, they planned to meet and she was going to "run away and live with him in his house."
Campbell drove to Wyoming and picked her up, then brought her back to his home.

An argument preceded the shooting. During the argument, Campbell went and got a gun and killed the victim by shooting her once in the head. He shot her "without the design to cause her death" Bordewyk said, which is an element to first-degree manslaughter.
 
Wow. That is so sad. Sort of what I expected, though. Far too often there is a sexual/rejection motive behind the violence.
 

Staff online

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
214
Guests online
3,908
Total visitors
4,122

Forum statistics

Threads
592,153
Messages
17,964,312
Members
228,705
Latest member
mhenderson
Back
Top