Dusty Wheeler (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
Mountain Home Police have released more details on the murder of a Mountain Home woman Friday morning, including the victim’s name. Thirty-six-year-old Heather L. Bradford was killed by a single shot to the head in the home she shared with her boyfriend and suspect in the case, 44-year-old Dusty Shane Wheeler. Wheeler is being held in the Baxter County Detention Center on a $1 million bond after being charged with first degree murder.
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers were called to the residence at 305 Sunny Ann Lane, just off Spring Street, around 6:00 Friday morning to assist Baxter Health paramedics for a female who was reportedly bleeding from her ear. Paramedics found Bradford in a lawn chair outside of the residence in front of the garage door, cold to the touch with no cardiac rhythm. When officers arrived, they found Wheeler asleep on the couch inside the house.
Bradford’s parents were on scene and told officers they had received a call from their daughter during the early morning hours saying she and Wheeler had been fighting and he had struck her in the face.
Paramedics informed police they had found a shell casing from a handgun in the driveway. Officers asked medical personnel if they had recovered the gun, but they had not seen it. The victim’s father then retrieved the gun that his wife had picked up from the victim’s lap. The mother was afraid her daughter might wake up and she didn’t want her to grab the pistol, so she took it and put it in their vehicle.
Officers noted the entry wound was on the left side of Bradford’s head and officers confirmed she is right handed. During questioning at the police department, Wheeler alleged he saw the gun in Bradford’s hand as officers were escorting him to a patrol unit, unaware it had already been removed by the victim’s mother.
Officers noted in the affidavit the barrel end of the pistol was clear of any blood or tissue and no powder burns were visibly present on the entry wound.
The victim’s body has been sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy.
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