In the quiet city of Minot, North Dakota, the life of Carrie Lynn Breitling-Welnel, a 50-year-old White/Caucasian female, was tragically cut short on Sunday, August 15, 2021. The incident unfolded early in the morning, around 7 a.m., when police were dispatched to a residence in the southwest part of the city following a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Carrie Welnel, who had been fatally shot.
As investigators began to piece together the events of that morning,
a search for a suspect was initiated. It wasn't long before they located 23-year-old Caleb Heyward-Treib in the backyard of a nearby home. Heyward-Treib was deceased, though authorities noted there were no obvious signs of trauma. An autopsy was ordered to determine his cause of death as the investigation pointed towards a murder-suicide.
The Minot Police Department later publicly identified Carrie Welnel as the victim of a homicide and Caleb Heyward-Treib as the suspected perpetrator. While the investigation into the motive and the precise circumstances leading to the tragic event continued, the community was left to mourn the loss of a woman remembered for her vibrant life and connections to those around her.
