Man Arrested For First-Degree Murder After Allegedly Shooting His Girlfriend

Mountain Home, MO. – A man was recently arrested for first-degree murder after he allegedly shot his girlfriend in the head during a fight.

According to the probable cause affidavit, at 6:00 am on the morning of June 14, 2024, the Mountain Home Police Department was called to a residence after a report of a female who was bleeding from her ear. When paramedics and officers arrived 36-year-old Heather Bradford was lying in a lawn chair with a gunshot wound to the head, and 44-year-old Dusty Wheeler was asleep on the couch inside. While talking with the victim's parents, who were on scene, they learned that the victim had contacted them early that morning saying she fought with Wheeler and he had struck her in the face.

Paramedics informed the police of a handgun shell casing found in the driveway but they could not find the gun. The victim's father then retrieved the handgun from his vehicle saying that the victim's mother had grabbed it and put it in their vehicle, scared her daughter would wake up and reach for it.

During an interview with Dusty in custody, he said that he saw the gun in the victim's hand while he was being escorted to the police vehicle. He was unaware the mother had already removed the gun.

Dusty Wheeler is being charged with first-degree murder and is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.