BY KIM SKORNOGOSKI • TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER • NOVEMBER 29, 2009
The man who is suspected of shooting and killing his girlfriend inside a Fort Benton apartment remains alive, but in critical condition at a Seattle hospital.
Fort Benton Police Chief John Turner said Saturday that hospital staff planned a second follow-up surgery today on the man, who officers believe shot himself once in the head.
Investigators have not released the names of either the man or the woman. She was in her late 40s or early 50s and he was in his late 30s.
Turner said one had lifelong ties to Fort Benton and had recently returned to live there.
"We have details of the case that we are still working through," Turner said. "Right now those details we're not going to share."
Chouteau County Attorney Steve Gannon said that the couple had been dating for a couple of years and were living together in Fort Benton.
The shooting was reported about 5 p.m. Thursday at 1709 Chouteau Ave., a four-plex private residence that the couple was renovating into rentals.
Investigators wouldn't release the type of gun used, but said they had recovered the weapon and have no reason to suspect anyone but the man as the shooter.
"There is a suspect," Gannon said Saturday. "We don't have any reason to believe there's a danger to the community."
Such a crime is normally a rarity in a small town like Fort Benton, a community of roughly 1,500 people.
In its Old West heyday, Fort Benton was known for bloody bar brawls and mysterious murders, but the quiet hamlet is now more famous for float trips and museums.
However, just two years ago, Fort Benton was struck by another killing. Charles "Cal" Lundy is serving 50 years in Montana State Prison for shooting 26-year-old J.J. Hankins Wendell.
In September 2007, Wendell was giving Lundy a ride home from a Fort Benton bar when he was shot and killed. Lundy then hid Wendell's body in a coulee about 20 miles northeast of town, where he was found days after he was reported missing.
In April of that year, 13-year-old Mark Keeley died northwest of Fort Benton in a shootout with both state and county officers. An inquest revealed that the Rudyard teen fired at officers after leading them on a chase in a stolen car.
Turner said that before the 2007 crime, it had been a dozen years since Fort Benton had a murder.
"Crimes of this nature happen all over the world," he said Saturday. "It's a very unfortunate situation and especially heartbreaking in a small town."
Turner said the apparent murder-suicide is a crime without rhyme or reason, further baffling long time Fort Benton residents.
"I wish we had a crystal ball and were able to stop them, but I don't know how you stop someone like that."
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kim Skornogoski at 791-6574, 800-438-6600 or kskornogoski@greatfallstribune.com.
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