A Montana man named Del Orrin Crawford received a 100-year jail sentence for his fatal shooting of Whisper Dawn Mari Sellars and his attempted murder of her husband, Doug Crosswhite, during a parking lot fight in 2022. In July, a jury found Crawford, 42, guilty of deliberate homicide, attempted deliberate homicide, assault with a weapon, and evidence tampering.
A separate assault with a weapon charge resulted in his acquittal. The incident took place on August 27, 2022, in the parking lot of the Southfork Saloon in Martin City, near Glacier National Park. Crawford had been driving a golf cart to transport people between a wedding rehearsal and the bar when a dispute broke out.
Sellars and another woman accosted Crawford, accusing him of having misplaced the golf cart keys. Crawford allegedly pushed Sellars, prompting her husband, Doug, to push him back. Prosecutors claimed Crawford discharged his revolver in rage, killing Sellars and badly wounding Crosswhite. Crawford claimed self-defense, telling investigators, “I argued with these people for a while.
They refuse to allow me to board the golf cart and leave, and their only response is, ‘If you don’t like what we’re doing, contact the cops.’ On the ground, they topped me in public. What else do I need to explain?” Robert Crosswhite, Sellars’ father-in-law, offered an emotional speech during the sentencing. “Del Crawford gave Whisper the death penalty.
He also meant to hand down that punishment to Doug, and in doing so, he sentenced their children and our family to a life without Whisper,” he told the Flathead Beacon. The tragedy has left the family to deal with Sellars’ death and the long-term effects of Doug Crosswhite’s injuries. Robert Crosswhite’s GoFundMe campaign has gathered more than $54,000 to aid with burial expenses, hospital expenditures, and support for Sellars’ five children.
Crosswhite described the event on his fundraising page as “a senseless verbal dispute in which a coward of a man pushed my daughter-in-law.” He continued, “My daughter-in-law died within minutes, on the ground close to my son as he struggled for every breath. The life of his wonderful family has irrevocably changed. Crawford will serve his term in the Montana Department of Corrections, ensuring that he spends the remainder of his life in prison.