Wyoming man pleads guilty to killing 3 relatives

SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) - A Wyoming man accused of killing three relatives has pleaded guilty.

Dana Beartusk, 55, pleaded guilty Tuesday in state District Court in Sheridan to three counts of second-degree murder.

Beartusk told Judge John Fenn he was intoxicated when he killed Seana Fisher, 54; Mochdaveyano "Blackhawk" Fisher, 25; and Angelina Beartusk, 51; all of Sheridan County, in March 2020. Their bodies were found in Beartusk's home in Big Horn.

Authorities arrested Beartusk after getting a call that a man had contacted a family member and said he had killed someone. Beartusk told Fenn he didn't remember disposing of three firearms in Montana, where he was arrested, The Sheridan Press reported.

Beartusk initially was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and faced up to life in prison. Prosecutors had said they didn't intend to seek the death penalty even though first-degree murder is punishable in Wyoming by death.

Each second-degree murder charge is punishable by at least 20 years in prison. A sentencing hearing was set for April 13.

More than a dozen relatives and friends of the family attended the change-of-plea hearing.