The Hill County Sheriff's Office this week identified 39-year-old Tiffiney Niehoff as the woman who was shot dead in the town of Hingham on Friday, May 23, 2025. The suspect has been identified as 20-year-old Deshawn Leeallen Chapman.
On Wednesday, reporter Aneesa Coomer talked with people who knew Tiffiney, and they remember her as a kind-hearted, hard-working mother. Watch the video:
Tiffiney had recently moved to Hingham from Loma (north of Fort Benton), where she worked at Ma’s Loma Cafe as a waitress.
It was there she befriended Chris Lonergan, who is the manager just across the street at Pa’s Loma Mart.
He said, “She was a really good-hearted person, would do anything for you. Just a big-hearted, great person. Did the best she could in life, and did a great job with being a mom and everything.”
The pair would continue to visit with each other even after Tiffiney left Loma to move up to the Hi Line.
Lonergan says, “Then she moved on to Havre, and every time she stopped by, we'd visit and say ‘Hey’, ‘I love you’ when she left, you know, we're just good friends.”
In just the last few years Tiffiney moved to Hingham, working as a waitress in Havre at Char’s Family Dining, and at Guadalajara.
One of Tiffany’s former colleagues, Charlotte Gregori, who owns Char’s Family Dining said in a statement to MTN: “She was a very hard working woman, she worked two jobs to support her family and save up money to buy a house, and that is the house that she ended up buying out in Hingham. She was a beautiful person inside and out, and very into her belief in God. She would help anybody if she could.”
For residents of Hingham, they recognize the loss of a kind woman who was just getting integrated into her new community.
Mike Spencer owns the bar and grill in town, and says Tiffiney would stop in from time to time to visit with staff.
Spencer says, “That's how I was getting to know her. I think that's why I'm a little upset, I didn't get to know her as well, and a lot of the people around here. She had a great sense of humor. We found she's very religious and very nice so our staff, and would sit and visit for a little bit and then be gone. She was such a wonderful lady when she came in here and we’re gonna miss her.”
As her friends and family grieve her loss, so does the community she touched.
Lonergan says, “A lot of people loved Tiffiney and they know her and she’s, I'm not kidding, a great person. I’m really sad about this.”
(MAY 27, 2025) The Hill County Sheriff's Office has identified 39-year-old Tiffiney Niehoff as the woman who was shot dead in the town of Hingham on Friday, May 23, 2025. The suspect has been identified as 20-year-old Deshawn Leeallen Chapman.
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Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said in a news release on Tuesday that officers responded at about 6 p.m. to a 911 call of a disturbance at 301 Second Street in Hingham. The female caller reported that a man at the residence was threatening her with a gun, and the call was abruptly ended by the 911 caller.
A second 911 call was received from the residence where another party reported a female had been shot and was dead.
The caller said the male suspect had retreated to the basement with the weapon.
Medical services were dispatched and advised to stage in a safe location until law enforcement arrived. Hill County Sheriff’s deputies arrived and learned that medical services had already been in the residence, and determined the woman, identified as Niehoff, was dead.
Deputies established a perimeter and were able to safely remove the witnesses from the residence.
Witnesses believed the suspect was still in the basement of the residence as they did not see him leave.
Deputies made numerous attempts to contact the suspect but received no response.
The Hill County Sheriff's Office requested assistance from the Great Falls/Cascade County tactical team and several other agencies who searched the area for the suspect and maintained a perimeter.
The agency then ordered a "shelter in place" for the town of Hingham at about 8:40 p.m. and advised residents to stay inside and lock their doors.
Negotiators eventually made contact with the suspect - Chapman - who surrendered peacefully and was arrested, and now faces a charge of deliberate homicide.
The shelter in place was lifted at about 11:50 p.m.
Chapman is jailed in the Hill County Detention Center on bail of $1,000,000.00.
The body of the decedent has been sent to the Montana Crime Lab for an autopsy, and the investigation continues.
The Hill County Sheriff's Office is still trying to find a pistol that may have been dropped or hidden in the town of Hingham by the suspect. The Hill County Sheriff's Office asks that Hingham residents thoroughly search their property to ensure the pistol is recovered and is not endangering the public. If a pistol is located, do not touch it and please call the Hill County Sheriff's office immediately at 406-265-2512.
At this point, officials have not stated what the relationship was between the victim and the suspect - if any - nor any considerations for motive.
We will update you as we get more information.
