In the summer of 2017, the life of 18-year-old Caucasian male Timothy "Tim" Reeves was cut tragically short during a camping trip with friends in the wooded area near Nora Creek Road, east of Troy, Idaho. The events that unfolded on the morning of July 17, 2017, stemmed from a night of alcohol and marijuana consumption that took a fatal turn. Witnesses reported that what began as reckless gunplay between friends escalated into a deadly game of Russian roulette.
According to accounts from
those present, Timothy Reeves and 17-year-old Keagan C. Tennant were pointing firearms at each other. Reeves held a. 38-caliber revolver, while Tennant was armed with a. 30-06 rifle. During the tense standoff, Reeves reportedly used racial slurs towards Tennant and dared him to act. It was then that Tennant fired the rifle, the bullet striking Reeves in the head and killing him instantly. In the immediate aftermath, a panicked Tennant allegedly fired another shot near a witness, exclaiming that there could be no witnesses, before breaking down in tears.
Following the shooting, another friend, 18-year-old Matthew McKetta, who had been away from the immediate scene retrieving a UTV, returned to the campsite. He and Tennant then wrapped Reeves' body in a tarp, loaded it onto the utility vehicle, and moved it to a more secluded spot in the woods. The two also attempted to hide Reeves' belongings and discussed burning any evidence that had his blood on it. The firearms used in the incident had been stolen from McKetta's adoptive father.
After two juvenile witnesses reported the death to the police the following day, Tennant and McKetta fled the area. Their escape involved the armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver in Moscow, from whom they stole a car. A manhunt ensued, lasting nearly 30 hours before law enforcement apprehended the pair in Curlew, Washington, approximately 10 miles south of the Canadian border, a place where Tennant had previously been enrolled in a Job Corps program.
Keagan C. Tennant was charged as an adult with multiple felonies, including involuntary manslaughter and attempted murder. Matthew McKetta faced charges related to his role in concealing the death and evidence. In 2018, Tennant pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, concealing evidence, and principal to robbery. He received a blended sentence that included probation and a potential 30-year prison term. However, he later violated his probation after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, leading to the reinstatement of his prison sentence.
