In the small ski resort town of Red Lodge, Montana, James "Jimmy" McGregor, a 63-year-old White/Caucasian male, was a familiar and well-liked member of the community. Originally from Michigan, he had spent most of his adult life as a ranch hand in Montana. Known for his kind and generous nature, McGregor lived a simple life in a small shack and did odd jobs at a local hardware store.
Despite his modest circumstances, he was known to have a significant amount of cash that he kept with him.
In the winter of 2018, a man named Thomas Schifferns and his common-law wife, Shilo, befriended McGregor. Given the harshness of the Montana winter and the inadequate protection his shack offered, they invited McGregor to live with them in their home. This arrangement, however, would prove to be a fatal one for McGregor. On February 19, 2018, he was reported missing.
Two days later, McGregor's body was discovered near Highway 212 at the Bear Track trailhead, about 12 miles south of Red Lodge. He had been shot in the head, and a trail of blood in the snow indicated that his body had been dragged from his truck, which was found abandoned nearby. The investigation quickly led to the arrest of Thomas Schifferns, who was the last person seen with McGregor.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Schifferns had a criminal past and had befriended McGregor shortly after McGregor had received a sum of social security money. The motive for the murder appeared to be financial, as a large amount of cash that McGregor was known to possess had gone missing. Schifferns initially claimed the shooting was an accident that occurred while they were on a fishing trip. However, a friend of Schifferns testified that he had confessed to deliberately killing McGregor. The murder weapon, a handgun, was later recovered from a snowbank where Schifferns had thrown it.
Thomas Schifferns was charged with deliberate homicide, theft, robbery, and evidence tampering. In March 2018, he pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide. He later attempted to withdraw his plea, citing mental health issues, but his request was denied. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for the murder of James McGregor.
