276: A Hunting Accident

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When Leonila Stickney died from a gunshot wound, her fiance Russell Bertram was quick to provide an explanation. The former police chief told investigators that she’d died in a hunting accident. He explained that she’d been in the passenger’s seat of his truck when he climbed into the driver’s seat. As he climbed in, he’d pointed the gun in her direction. He claimed she’d grabbed the barrel of the gun, keeping it pointed at herself, and leaned in for a kiss. Then the gun went off. He was totally innocent! Nothing to see here! Infuriatingly, investigators bought his story.

And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“The Hunter and the Hunted” episode Accident, Suicide or Murder
“Jealousy, greed marked 2016 murder trial of former South Dakota police chief Russell Bertram” by Erik Kaufman, Mitchell Republic
“Former South Dakota Police Chief Murdered Pregnant Fiancée And Blamed It On An Accident” by Joe Dziemianowicz, oxygen.com
“Leonila Stickney” podcast episode, Forensic Tales
“Ex-Police Chief Convicted of Murdering Pregnant Fiancée Years After Claiming Her 2009 Death Was an Accident” by KC Baker, people.com
“Why would a former police chief kill his young fiancee? Jealousy and greed, prosecutors allege.” By Sarah Larimer, The Washington Post
“State v. Bertram” findlaw.com

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