Shelli Waltemath was remembered by friends as a bubbly, smart, and kind woman who was a shining light in her Bozeman, Montana, community. The 50-year-old Gallatin Gateway resident was described as "the one you call in the middle of the night" and someone with the best sense of humor. For about eight years, she had been a friendly face behind the bar at the Korner Klub and also worked at the Pour House in Bozeman.
More recently, she was a dedicated member of the Altitude Athletics gym, where her energy and presence made workout classes more fun for everyone. Her gym's owner recalled seeing her in a class just hours before her death, her vibrant personality on full display.
The afternoon of Wednesday, October 14, 2026, turned tragic in a business complex near West Main Street and Professional Drive. At 3:56 p.m., the Bozeman Police Department received a report of a woman needing CPR, with the caller suggesting she might have fallen and hit her head. When officers arrived, they discovered a grim scene. Shelli Waltemath had not fallen; she had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced deceased. The area was immediately secured, becoming a crime scene that was processed throughout the night, impacting surrounding businesses.
Investigators with the Bozeman Police Department worked quickly, using items left at the scene to identify a primary suspect. By the next morning, the case took another dark turn. Around 6:29 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, police responded to a call about a man's body found in a field near the 2400 block of West College Street, not far from where Shelli had been killed. The man was identified as 62-year-old Steven Michael Dailey of Missoula. Authorities determined he was the suspect in Shelli's homicide and that he had died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
With the primary suspect deceased, the case was considered solved, though the motive remained a troubling mystery. Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp stated that there was no obvious or immediate connection between Shelli and Dailey. “We still don't have a motive, and detectives are still trying to figure out the connection between the suspect and the victim,” Veltkamp said in the days following the incident. He noted that homicides are uncommon in Bozeman, which made the violent event particularly tragic for the community. The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office expressed its deepest condolences to Shelli's family and friends.
In the wake of the shocking violence, those who knew and loved Shelli were left in disbelief. Her friend, Kari Ritter, who had worked alongside her at the Korner Klub, described the night of the murder as "surreal." She shared a fond memory of Shelli letting Ritter's six-year-old daughter do her makeup at a New Year's party, a testament to her kind and playful spirit. Ritter hoped the investigation would provide "some insight into why it happened and how we can protect people in this industry."
The community at Altitude Athletics gathered the Saturday after her death to hold a workout class in her honor, remembering the joy and fun she brought into their lives. As of October 2026, the Bozeman Police Department confirmed that detectives were continuing to pour hours into interviewing people and fact-finding to understand the circumstances that led to the tragedy. Though the threat to the public was over, the questions surrounding the senseless loss of a beloved member of the community remained.
