Drunk father kills own daughter after fight over her pet rats and because he was sick of her living at his home
ADAMS, NORTH DAKOTA: A drunk father was sentenced to prison for murdering his 36-year-old daughter after an argument about her living at home. The man was also upset with her for adopting a family of rats.
The father, Steven Aune, 67 had been sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, June 4 for murdering his daughter Stephanie last year in May.
Aune was convicted of manslaughter in January. He revealed that he had argued with Stephanie, who had adopted a family of rats and kept them in an old aquarium. A while after, he was arrested for killing Stephanie, Aune told investigators that he had opened fire as Stephanie and her twin sister Stacey "stressed him out because he still has to take care of them."
According to Aune, the .22 caliber rifle had "just gone off" and it could have accidentally discharged when he had gestured with it. The jurors unanimously agreed that Stephanie had died due to Aune being reckless versus him having some cold-blooded urge to kill her.
The gunshot had struck Stephanie in the abdomen which had resulted in her death, the Grand Forks Herald reports. When Stephanie's sister Stacey went to see what the noise was all about, she found her dying sister leaning over the kitchen table. The bullet had gone through many organs and Stephanie died on the operating table just 15 minutes after she was admitted. Nurses had tried to perform CPR and revive Stephanie but she did not survive.
Post the shooting, Aune had reportedly tried to kill himself and was said to be in a state of 'disbelief' at the news of his daughter's death.
The Jury had to decide whether they found Aune guilty of murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide. The decision took around six hours of deliberation which spanned across two days. Aune was eventually found guilty of manslaughter.
Aune had asked the court for a four-year minimum sentence but given his criminal record, he was given the maximum sentence of 10 years for the crime. In addition to serving time, he will also receive treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.
Stephanie Aune said that her sister had been living with her father and he had begun to resent them "leeching off him", an affidavit filed in the Walsh County court revealed, Williston Herald revealed.
"There were some rats that were brought into the house as pets, and Mr Aune said he was on a limited budget and, with the guests in the house, that he was not able to provide for them and their pets... that made him upset," Walsh County Sheriff Ron Jurgens said.
It is believed that Aune was out drinking and had been described as suicidal and was trying to kick his daughters out of the house. He would often tell them that they had extended their stay and it was stressing him out. It was also reported that Stacey did not call 911 immediately, Jurgens said. "It’s at least 45 minutes from the time she is shot until she arrives at the hospital. The delay... I’m not going to say that it caused the death, but it certainly didn’t help with the immediate medical situation going on with her," Jurgens said.