Amanda Myrene Fields Moffett, Nowata, Oklahoma mom ‘accidentally’ shoots daughter, Laramie Moffett dead after aiming at stray dog attacking kittens. Shooting death follows mom and daughter allegedly arguing prior to tragedy.
An Oklahoma mother pled guilty to ‘accidentally’ killing her teen daughter while trying to shoot a stray dog that was attacking kittens. The daughter’s shooting death followed claims that the mother and daughter had been arguing prior to the shooting.
Amanda Myrene Fields Moffett, 43, a Cherokee citizen of Nowata, entered the plea this week after being charged with involuntary manslaughter in Indian country for the incident five years ago that killed her 16-year-old daughter, Laramie, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma said.
On Oct. 5, 2018, Moffett’s daughter told her that a stray dog was attacking kittens outside.
What did mother actually know and did not know?
The mother conceded stepping out onto her front porch after sunset and firing a handgun into the dark yard at what she believed to be the stray dog – without confirming that her daughter was out of her line of fire.
Moffett admitted to being ‘grossly negligent’ in her plea agreement, acknowledging she didn’t check on her daughter’s whereabouts before opening fire.
‘I went out onto my front porch and discharged a handgun at what I believed was the stray dog,’ Moffett wrote in her federal plea agreement.
‘When I discharged the firearm, it was dark outside, and I knew [my daughter] was outside of my home trying to save the kittens from the dog. I did not verify that [my daughter] was not in my line of fire when I discharged the handgun.’
The mother added that firing the gun was the ‘direct and proximate cause’ of her daughter’s death.
Five years passed before federal prosecutors took on case
‘Every gun owner has the legal responsibility to use extreme caution when discharging a firearm. This case unfortunately highlights the potential tragic results absent that caution,’ US Attorney Clinton Johnson said in a statement.
Moffett was initially charged with first-degree murder with deliberate intent, but the case was dismissed after her attorney argued that she was wrongfully charged in state court, KSN 16 reported.
Questions were raised over how many shots were fired and whether the mother and daughter had been arguing on the night of the shooting along with assertions that the case was unlawfully filed according to Nowata County District Court documents.
Many similar cases have been dismissed if the defendant can prove tribal citizenship. Federal prosecutors only decided to take up the case five years after the shooting, on September 16.
Moffett faces a maximum of eight years in federal jail.
A federal judge will determine the sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Moffett will remain on conditions of supervised release until sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled, officials said.
The case was investigated by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, FBI and Nowata County Sheriff’s Office.
