In the small community of Trego, Montana, the life of Xennie Lee Kirkedahl, a 32-year-old White / Caucasian male, came to a sudden and violent end on April 5, 2021. He passed away in his own home, the place where he had grown up and which was now the scene of a family tragedy. For some time before that fatal day, tension had been brewing between Xennie and his father, Scott Lee Kirkedahl. The arguments had become a frequent occurrence, so much so that Xennie's uncle, Carl Kirkedahl, who had been visiting, had chosen to stay in a hotel to escape the constant conflict.
On the morning of the shooting, Carl returned to his brother's home. He found Scott and Xennie already in the midst of another argument. The day wore on with the two men drinking beer and the conflict continuing to simmer. At one point, Carl went to a bedroom to distance himself from the dispute. It was then that he heard a single gunshot.
He emerged to see his brother, Scott, with his hand pointed toward the ceiling. A short while later, after returning to the bedroom, Carl heard a second shot. This time, Scott entered the room, sat on the bed, and confessed that he had shot his son.
It was Scott Kirkedahl himself who alerted authorities, calling 911 to report that he had killed Xennie with a. 38 caliber gun during a drunken argument. When officers from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and other agencies arrived at the trailer, Scott walked out with his hands up and was arrested without incident. Inside, they discovered Xennie on the kitchen floor. He was pronounced deceased at the scene, and his body was later taken to the Montana State Crime Lab for an autopsy. Investigators found a bullet hole in the kitchen ceiling, corroborating the uncle's account of the first shot.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, a fuller picture of the troubled relationship between father and son emerged. Scott Lee Kirkedahl was charged with deliberate homicide. However, as the case progressed, it was revealed that Scott had allegedly endured years of abuse at the hands of his son, suffering frequent beatings that resulted in traumatic brain injuries. In light of these circumstances, prosecutors reached a plea agreement. Scott Kirkedahl pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of mitigated deliberate homicide. He was sentenced to 30 years with the Department of Corrections, with 25 years suspended. The judge ordered him to enroll in a five-year program for substance abuse and mental health treatment, a decision supported by family members present at the sentencing.
