By MATTHEW BROWN and NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS , 10.06.11, 11:16 PM EDT
BILLINGS, Mont. — A 3-year-old child witnessed the killing of three people in a remote area of Montana’s Crow Indian Reservation and named a family member as the shooter, according to an FBI affidavit.
Sheldon Bernard Chase, 22, was captured in Washington state Wednesday after a multi-state manhunt and made an initial appearance before a judge Thursday. He’s accused of killing his grandmother, cousin and cousin’s boyfriend at their rural home on Tuesday.
Dressed in a yellow jumpsuit and wearing leg shackles, Chase gave yes and no answers to a series of questions from U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno on Thursday, and asked to be returned to Montana as soon as possible.
The violence inside a prominent Crow family known for its adherence to traditional tribal values has roiled the reservation south of Billings. An FBI affidavit filed in the criminal complaint against Chase offers new insight into what happened.
Chase suffers from mental illness, according to authorities and those who know him. The affidavit said Chase had stopped taking his medications prior to the shootings, although it does not specify when or what the medications were.