In the early morning hours of December 2, 2016, a tragic and sudden act of violence cut short the life of 19-year-old Satha Teeter, a Caucasian female from Mason City, Iowa. The events that unfolded that morning in a local apartment complex would leave a community in shock and a family grappling with a devastating loss. Satha, also known as Samantha, was with her boyfriend when they went to the apartment of their neighbor, 60-year-old Larry Whaley.
Having been at Whaley's apartment the previous night, they returned and knocked on his door. When there was no answer, Teeter attempted to use a key.
From inside the apartment, and without opening the door, Larry Whaley fired a handgun three times through the closed door. One of these bullets struck Satha in the head. She was rushed to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa and later transferred to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. Despite medical efforts, Satha Teeter succumbed to her injuries two days later, on December 4, 2016, due to cardiac failure. The initial charge of attempted murder against Larry Whaley was subsequently upgraded to first-degree murder following her death.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a tense and chaotic atmosphere in the days leading up to the incident. Whaley had recently "evicted" two other individuals from his apartment with police assistance and believed one of them had a key and a gun. On the night of the shooting, another woman was staying with Whaley because she feared a former partner. Whaley's defense would later argue that he fired his weapon in self-defense, believing that people were trying to break into his apartment. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Whaley talking to himself, reportedly saying, "They were trying to break in." A revolver with both spent and live rounds was later found under his couch.
During his trial, Larry Whaley maintained that the shooting was an accident and that he had no intention of harming anyone, only to scare off what he perceived as a threat. He had even written letters to the judge expressing that his actions did not amount to first-degree murder. Ultimately, the prosecution amended the top charge to second-degree murder. In December 2017, a jury found Larry Whaley guilty of second-degree murder. In February 2018, he was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 35 years to be served before becoming eligible for parole.
