On a spring evening in Denver, Colorado, the life of 11-year-old Christine McDaniels was tragically cut short. On May 23, 2019, Christine, along with her parents, Joseph and Althea McDaniels, was shot and killed in their home in the Bear Valley neighborhood. The family had been preparing for a new chapter in their lives, planning a move to Mississippi, when the horrific events unfolded.
That evening, a man the family knew well, 59-year-old Bustaman Kartabrata, arrived at their home on
South Golden Way. After a conversation in the living room, Kartabrata allegedly left the house only to return shortly after, claiming his wife had forgotten her purse inside. It was then that he reportedly brandished a gun and began shooting. Althea McDaniels was pronounced dead at the scene, while Christine and her father, Joseph, were rushed to a nearby hospital where they later succumbed to their injuries. The deaths were ruled homicides.
The tragedy was witnessed in part by Christine's younger brother, who managed to escape the home unharmed and run to a neighbor's apartment to call for help. He identified the shooter as his paternal grandmother's husband, Bustaman Kartabrata. The boy's maternal grandmother, who also lived in the home, survived by jumping from a second-story window.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Bustaman Kartabrata was located in northeast Denver and arrested. He was held for investigation of three counts of first-degree murder and felony menacing. While investigators reported that Kartabrata knew the family well, a specific motive for the shooting was not immediately released, though it was noted that some sort of conflict had occurred as the McDaniels family was moving out of their home. The incident was described by a Denver Police Department official as 'one of the most emotional cases' they had ever dealt with, deeply affecting everyone involved, from victim's advocates to hospital workers.
