When a passerby drove along Highway 16 near Rapid City early on November 1, 2021, they spotted a body in the ditch and made the call that would set a fast-moving investigation in motion. Authorities identified the victim as Dhani Aronson, a 24-year-old White male from Rapid City, and an autopsy determined the death was a homicide.
Investigators soon pieced together a grim account from court records: Aronson had been shot twice in the head.
The shooting, prosecutors alleged, happened after Andrew Thorson went to meet Aronson during what was described as a planned marijuana purchase. Jacob Stanton was described as being present and later helping with cleanup and with moving Aronson's body before it was left along the highway.
Within days, authorities publicly tied two men to the case. Thorson and Stanton—both from Rapid City—were taken into custody and faced serious charges as the case unfolded through the courts. Early reporting described Thorson as charged with second-degree murder, while Stanton faced an accessory charge, with high cash bonds set as the two made their first court appearances.
As the months turned into years, the courtroom outcome sharpened the story's ending. Thorson later entered a plea to first-degree manslaughter, and reporting on the sentencing said the original second-degree murder charge was dropped as part of the agreement. In May 2023, he was sentenced to 70 years in prison with 15 years suspended—an effective 55-year term—stemming from Aronson's killing and the decision to leave him in the ditch off Highway 16.
