HELENA — On Monday afternoon, Serena Kilseimer made her initial appearance in Lewis & Clark County Justice Court.
Prosecutors have filed two alternative charges against her: deliberate homicide, or accountability for deliberate homicide.
Court documents accuse Kilseimer, 32 years old, of either being directly responsible for 56-year-old Shane White’s death, or aiding a co-defendant, identified as Dewayne Johnson.
The Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office says authorities found White’s body last Wednesday in the area of Cave Gulch Road, north of Canyon Ferry Lake.
An autopsy showed he had blunt force and sharp force injuries. Court documents say deputies found two knives near his body.
Prosecutors say White’s family reported him missing last week. Family members told investigators they last saw him September 8th, and he was with Kilseimer and Johnson.
According to court documents, a security camera showed the three traveling toward Canyon Ferry in White’s truck, and a GPS monitor Johnson was wearing showed he went to Cave Gulch.
A witness told deputies that Johnson later returned White’s truck, but they did not see White.
Court documents say White had testified against Kilseimer and Johnson in a dependent neglect case.
Justice of the Peace Mike Swingley set Kilseimer’s bond at $75,000. Additional charges are expected to be filed against Johnson, but he did not make an official appearance in court Monday.
(SEPTEMBER 20, 2019) The man whose body was found in the area of Cave Gulch Road near Canyon Ferry Lake has been identified as Shane White of Helena; he was 56 years old.
Lewis & Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton released the man's name Friday morning.
On Wednesday, Lewis & Clark County detectives found White's body in the area of Cave Gulch Road near the northern shore of Canyon Ferry Lake.
The detectives were conducting a follow-up investigation into a report of a missing Helena man; he had been reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office by a family member on Monday, September 16.
Undersheriff Jason Grimmis told MTN News, "Physical evidence supported through the investigation as well as the autopsy indicates that foul play is involved, but at this point we do not feel that there is a risk to the public and the investigation is ongoing."
The Sheriff's Office says the cause of White's death is blunt force trauma, and that he also had "sharp force injuries" on his body.
Dutton says no charges have been filed at this time.
The investigation continues; if you have any information, you're asked to call Detective Pat McDuffie at 457-8836 or Detective James Ward at 457-8834.
