GREAT FALLS – Treyson Sharp, charged for the shooting death of Jadie Butterfly, changed his plea in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
The Montana Department of Justice alleges that Sharp fired a gun while pointing it at Butterfly, killing her, in December 2024.
From court documents:
On the night of December 28, 2024, the defendant, Treyson Lee Sharp, invited his girlfriend 19-year-old Jane Doe to his family home for dinner. After dinner, they retired to his bedroom where Sharp showed Doe his Christmas presents, including a pair of .357 revolvers. While playing with the firearms, the defendant pointed the revolver at Doe and discharged the firearm, striking Doe in the neck.
Sharp immediately yelled for help. Family members who were in the home responded. One called 911 and one rendered medical aid to Doe. Sharp was so hysterical he had to be removed from the room and was heard on the 911 call screaming for help. Doe died at the scene. Law enforcement responded to the home. In interviews with witnesses, they reported hearing Sharp and Doe laughing in the room immediately before hearing a single shot and then Sharp yelling for help.
Law enforcement recovered four firearms at the scene: two .357 revolvers, a .44 revolver, and a modified shotgun. Law enforcement located a bullet hole in Sharp’s bedroom wall. Law enforcement recovered a spent projectile outside the house and found a brass casing in the wall. The casing was forensically matched to one of the recovered .357 revolvers. The cylinder of the fired revolver had six chambers: five were empty and one contained a spent casing.
In multiple interviews, Sharp told law enforcement that he and Doe were playing with the .357 revolvers, which he believed to be empty, when one went off. At first Sharp said that he had been taking it from Doe when it discharged but eventually reported to law enforcement that they were playing, “western” and he was across the room when it happened.
Sharp stated, “I didn’t know it was loaded – none of my guns are ever loaded when I bring them in. I don’t know what happened or how it got in there, but we were dueling, and I did it…I’ve done it before with friends… it went off, she went down…I didn’t know it was in there.” He said that he did not remember if his finger hit the trigger, but he did remember pulling the hammer back.
Sharp, 21 years old, was arraigned in August on charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession of an unlawful firearm.
Prosecutors dropped the gun charge as part of a plea deal, meaning Sharp faced only the involuntary manslaughter charge.
During his court appearance on Tuesday, Sharp pleaded guilty to the charge.
Sentencing is set for February 11, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
Sharp faces a maximum of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3½ years of supervised release as part of the plea agreement.
(MAY 5, 2025) Chris Butterfly did not know that the night of December 28, 2024, was the last time he would see his daughter Jadie Butterfly alive: "Her laugh was contagious, her smile was radiant, her personality was one of a kind."
Butterfly told MTN News that his daughter was shot by her boyfriend, and they believe it was intentional. What followed were weeks of silence from local law enforcement about Jadie's case.
WATCH:
"Nothing was done," Butterfly said. "We received zero calls from law enforcement, that's what made me start advocating for my daughter."
MTN News tried to contact Tribal Law enforcement and the Glacier County Sheriff's Office for more information, but we have received no response from either agency.
In response to an inquiry, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it can not comment on ongoing cases.
This is a reality for families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Cases are often delayed, or never brought at all, and families are left in the dark to seek justice on their own.
In March, Jadie's family took their fight to social media, creating the "Justice for Jadie" Facebook page in hopes of finding answers.
"This is something we shouldn't have had to do, we want to shine light on how wrongfully she was done," Crystal Cole, Jadie's aunt, said.
Jadie's family hopes the page will bring attention and justice to her case.
"It's just the same story on every case," Butterfly said. "Whenever their family members crying out for help, just because the justice system failed them. I mean it's really disheartening."
Her childhood friend, Autumn Bremner, says she's never imagined a life without Jadie.
"She was my favorite person in my life," Bremner said, "I feel like that's what hurts the most is like the silence, not knowing, because I really wish we had that closure. I don't know if it would hurt any less, but at least we'd know."
Marlene Cobell met Jadie in their first year of college at the University of Montana.
"When she walked into a room, everything just went bright," Cobell said.
While their best friend is gone, they say she is with them in every moment. They still imagine conversations with her, they know what jokes she would make, and they keep her memory going. They are fighting for justice for their beloved friend.
Cobell plans to be a lawyer and work for justice throughout Indian Country. Meanwhile, her friends and family continue to move forward with the same message, to honor Jadie's life.
"Jadie was very loved and she deserved justice," Butterfly said.
