By Andrew J. Nelson
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A dispute between a man and his ex-girlfriend ended badly on the Santee Sioux Indian Reservation in northeast Nebraska.
Dawn L. Starlin, 46, died Sunday in a barrage of gunfire outside her home in the village of Santee. Shannon R. Thomas, 33, was arrested and placed in federal custody.
Starlin and Thomas were both residents of the reservation, which is in Knox County. The FBI has jurisdiction in the case.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court this week in Omaha indicate that a dispute over alleged vandalism preceded the shooting.
Starlin and a woman currently dating Thomas had an ongoing quarrel. Thomas also suspected Starlin had damaged his current girlfriend's home. The women were neighbors.
According to court documents, Thomas described the shooting this way to federal investigators:
Early Sunday, as he was standing outside his girlfriend's home, Starlin walked out of her apartment, sat down on a chair and began taunting him.
Thomas picked up a rifle and “started pulling the trigger.” He then took his girlfriend's car and disposed of the rifle near an area known as “Devil's Nest.”
Tribal police responded about 5:30 a.m. and found Starlin with multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators located 10 small-caliber shell casings about 25 feet away from her, and several apparent bullet holes in a nearby building.
Thomas turned himself in to authorities at his mother's home in Santee. He was indicted this week on a charge of second-degree murder. He remains jailed.
Starlin's funeral was Thursday and she was buried at the Congregational Cemetery in Santee.
Contact the writer:
444-3106, andrew.nelson@owh.com
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