Father charged

WASILLA — A man shot his daughter in the eye with a .44 Magnum about 11 p.m. Tuesday evening, then called police to report it, authorities said.

Authorities charged Michael Wolverton, 69, of Wasilla, with his daughter Shannan Wolverton’s murder, after responding to Michael’s call from a residence along Mariah Drive off of Wasilla-Fishhook Road, according to a sworn affidavit written by Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Michael Henry. Responders declared Shannan, 47, dead at the scene, according to the affidavit.

Michael was arraigned in District Court Wednesday afternoon on murder charges and one charge of fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon, court documents show. Authorities charged Michael with both first and second-degree murder, consistent with standard Alaskan legal practice, which requires authorities to file charges relating to every possible theory of how a crime was committed.

The two had been living together about three months, Michael told investigators. The night of the shooting, Michael said he’d been drinking brandy “like he always does at night,” the affidavit reads. “He saw Shannan had a male friend over and Michael told her that the guy needed to leave.”

Michael went to bed, but at some point, Shannan either followed Michael to the bedroom, or entered the bedroom and started screaming at him after he was already asleep, according to the affidavit. Shannan refused to leave the bedroom when Michael asked, so he removed the gun from the nightstand and showed it to her, Michael told state troopers. That only made her more aggressive, the affidavit reads.

“Shoot me, shoot me (expletive),” Shannan reportedly yelled at Michael.

“He (Michael) shot her when she was about four feet away,” Henry wrote. “Michael said he didn’t know exactly where he was aiming when he fired the pistol, but it was probably at her head, and he was trying to kill her.”

“He shot her one time and knew she was dead,” the affidavit reads.

Family members told investigators Shannan had a history of physical violence against Michael, including an incident about 15 years earlier when she attacked both Michael’s unnamed wife at the time and Michael himself, when he attempted to break up the fight.

“Their family suspects Shannan has some sort of mental health disorder, but she has never been diagnosed,” Henry wrote, based on Michael’s statements. “Michael said she occasionally has episodes where she yells a lot and sometimes gets physically violent.”

The episode that evening was the last straw, Michael told troopers.

“Michael stated Shannan’s fit tonight was different than past fits because she was more aggressive in her approach toward him and Michael felt vulnerable because his health is poor,” Henry wrote. “Michael said he guesses he shot her mostly because he was sick of dealing with her fits, but also because he was a little scared. He didn’t want her to hurt him.”

Michael and Shannan each have less than five minor offense charges against them in Palmer Court, court documents show.

Michael remained in Mat-Su Pretrial Wednesday evening pending a grand jury indictment and superior court arraignment.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.