Sterling Louis Black faces second-degree murder charges after allegedly shooting his child's mother in a Riverton motel room, leaving their young daughter to discover the body. The child told police that her father was angry with her mother and had gone for a walk. Authorities recovered evidence linking Black to the crime, including a matching handgun.
On the morning of March 7, Riverton police responded to a 911 call at the Ol' Wyoming Motel in the 400 block of North Federal Boulevard, where a young girl reported finding her mother unconscious and covered in blood. The woman was identified as 24-year-old Angelina Rose Bell, who had suffered a gunshot wound to the face near the bridge of her nose next to her right eye. First responders secured the scene, and detectives launched a homicide investigation after noting signs of foul play, including a 9 mm shell casing in the room.
The child, who spoke with officers at the scene and later at the police station with a victim-witness coordinator, provided key details. She said, "Momma's in my bathroom," and described, "Mommy has blood on her" and "Mommy's dead." The girl also stated, "Daddy was mad at Mommy" and "Daddy went for a walk."
In the bathroom, investigators found the shell casing in the toilet bowl, along with a plastic case for a SAR 9 mm semiautomatic pistol containing two empty magazines. A fired bullet was recovered on the floor in front of the vanity, and there was no exit wound on Bell's body. Stippling from gunpowder particles was observed across her face, indicating the shot was fired from several inches to 2 feet away. Signs of drug and alcohol use were present in the bathroom, but no nearby guests reported hearing a gunshot or argument.
Black, 25, turned himself in that afternoon. His father informed police that he located Black in an abandoned trailer on his property and encouraged him to surrender. The father also handed over a SAR 9 mm handgun whose serial number matched the case from the motel. Black faces a possible sentence of 20 years to life in prison for second-degree murder in Wyoming.
The Fremont County coroner examined Bell's body at the scene, confirming the cause of death as the apparent gunshot wound.
