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Woman dead: Bozeman man charged with deliberate homicide

Posted at 11:02 AM, Apr 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-05 14:49:28-04

UPDATE: 4/5/19, 11 a.m. – William Bailey, the suspect in the Wagon Wheel trailer park shooting last night, was seen in Gallatin County Justice Court on Friday morning.

His bail was set at $1 million.

Bailey could face up to 100 years to life in prison on the charge of deliberate homicide.

The prosecution also requested a discussion over the possibility of the death sentence.

He is to have no contact with family or witnesses of the victim, who were unnamed.

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Awaiting the arraignment of the suspect of a now-deadly #shooting in #Bozeman last night at the Wagonwheel trailer park…scheduled for 10:30am.

Posted by KBZK TV on Friday, April 5, 2019

BOZEMAN, Mont. – A Bozeman man was charged with deliberate homicide after he reportedly shot a woman on Thursday night.

The woman died during emergency surgery for gunshot wounds early Friday morning.

William Fredrick Bailey, 56, will be seen in Gallatin County Justice Court Friday morning.

According to charging documents, at approximately 8:11 p.m. Bozeman Police officers responded to a 911 call from the Wagon Wheel mobile home park in the 2220 W. Main St. The reporting party said they heard two gunshots and saw a woman lying in the driveway of a nearby residence. They also saw a man approach her and drop a towel on top of the woman before returning to the home.

Upon arrival, the officers saw a woman on the ground and Bailey walking down the front porch steps, holding a firearm in his hand. Officers ordered Bailey to drop the weapon several times before he did so. Bailey was then placed into handcuffs and secured in a patrol car.

The woman was transported to Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital by ambulance with a gunshot wound to her abdomen.

CPR was reportedly performed three times in the emergency room, before her condition stabilized enough that she underwent emergency surgery for what a doctor deemed “life-threatening gunshot wounds to her abdomen.”

The doctor told officers the entry wound appeared “jagged” as if she may have been shot more than once.

At approximately 2:15 a.m. Friday, April 5, 2019, the woman died during emergency surgery.

During questioning, Bailey waived his rights and spoke with law enforcement. He said that the woman moved in with him in approximately 2016 and they did not have history of arguing until she began spending time with another man.

Bailey reportedly said he was upset the woman was seeing someone else.

After Bailey and woman went grocery shopping earlier Thursday, he returned home and began drinking alcohol and the woman left to spend time with the man she had been seeing. Bailey allegedly told officers this upset him.

At approximately 7 p.m. the woman returned to the home, when Bailey told her she should move out and that he was going to throw her belongings out of their residence.

Bailey reportedly told officers that the woman told him she was going to have someone visit him, which he felt was a threat.

After the woman left, Bailey retrieved a Ruger firearm and then began to throw the woman’s belongings out of the residence into the driveway. Shortly after he began to remove her belongings, he told officers that she threw something at the door. Bailey said he opened the door, removed the Ruger from his waistband and fired two rounds toward the woman. Bailey said the woman fell to the ground after he fired the second shot. He then returned to the residence where he got a towel and placed it on the victim’s wound.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Reporting by Ken Spencer and Cody Boyer – MTN News

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