Waiting game continues for local law enforcement
Steve Hallstrom
Special to The Farmer
Law enforcement officials, investigating the shooting death of a woman killed in Watford City, continue to wait for evidence to be processed as their investigation continues.
32 year-old Brianne Anderson was shot at an apartment in Watford City just before midnight on Wednesday, March 22, and died the next morning at a Minot hospital.
At press time, no charges have been filed.
The investigation, prosecutors say, hinges on findings that are expected to come back from two external facilities, the North Dakota State Crime Lab in Bismarck and the FBI Lab in Quantico, Va. This evidence, prosecutors say, is key to the investigation and is expected to inform them of any charges that might be filed. The evidence was sent to the labs several months ago.
“We are still waiting on Quantico for ballistics and potentially still recovering some video from the scene that night,” says McKenzie County State’s Attorney Ty Skarda, who will lead the prosecution’s charging efforts. “Officer Shaun Schatz (of the Watford City Police Department) has been diligently communicating with agents from Quantico and they are hopeful to get us something soon. They have acknowledged that they have had a couple big murder cases from around the country that took priority.”