In the early morning hours of a Friday in Mountain Home, Arkansas, a distressing phone call set in motion a tragic series of events. Heather L. Bradford, a 36-year-old female, reached out to her parents, telling them she had been in a fight with her live-in boyfriend, Dusty Shane Wheeler, and that he had struck her in the face. This would be one of the last communications they had with their daughter.
Alarmed, her parents made their way to the home she shared with Wheeler on Sunny Ann Lane.
Upon their arrival, they made a devastating discovery. Heather was found outside the residence, seated in a lawn chair in front of the garage. Emergency services were called to the scene around 6:00 a.m. Paramedics who arrived first found her cold to the touch and with no cardiac rhythm. It was determined that she had sustained a single gunshot wound to the head. Inside the house, police officers found 44-year-old Dusty Shane Wheeler asleep on the couch.
As the investigation began, a handgun shell casing was discovered in the driveway. The weapon itself was not immediately found by law enforcement. It was later revealed that Heather's mother, upon finding her daughter, had taken a pistol from her lap. Fearing her daughter might awaken and grab the weapon, she had secured it in their vehicle. The gun was subsequently retrieved by Heather's father and turned over to the authorities.
Dusty Shane Wheeler was taken into custody and later charged with first-degree murder in the death of Heather Bradford. He was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center. During questioning, Wheeler claimed to have seen the gun in Heather's hand as he was being escorted to a patrol car, apparently unaware that her mother had already removed it. His bond was initially set at $1 million. Following his arrest, Wheeler's legal team sought a reduction of his bond. It was eventually lowered, and he was released after paying the required fees, with conditions including house arrest and the wearing of an ankle monitor. He has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge against him.
