Laramie County coroner to withhold name of man killed by neighbor last month

Samir Knox, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
·2 min read
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Apr. 17—CHEYENNE — Details regarding last month's fatal shooting at Oxford Drive are likely to remain vague.

Earlier this week, Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that her office wasn't likely to charge the man who police say killed his neighbor in late March. The man was not arrested in connection with the incident, and has not been identified by officials in references to the case.

In a message to the WTE Tuesday morning, an official with the Laramie County Coroner's Office said Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid would not be releasing the deceased's name, adding that the family did not want his name to be made public.

Although Hackl expressed measured confidence that her office would not charge the suspect in this case, she emphasized in her interview that her office had not fully resolved the matter. She said that she was still waiting for a toxicology report on the deceased, which she said could take an "abysmally" long amount of time.

While this information may not impact charging decisions, it is a piece of information Hackl's office would like to have before making a final decision, she said.

According to details released by the Cheyenne Police Department about the incident, a neighbor intervened in a domestic dispute between his downstairs neighbors at an apartment building on Oxford Drive. The incident, which police said took place at around 11 p.m. March 30, led to a 38-year-old male suffering multiple gunshot wounds, he was declared dead at the scene.

"Officers contacted another adult male who claimed to be the shooter; he was detained," an April 1 news release from CPD read. "The preliminary investigation shows that a loud physical and verbal disturbance occurred between the 38-year-old man and a woman at the apartment earlier in the evening. According to statements, the shooter, an upstairs tenant, heard yelling in the unit below. He armed himself with a handgun and went downstairs to intervene. While in the stairwell between both apartments, a disturbance occurred that resulted in the decedent being fatally shot."

Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on X at @bySamirKnox.