A 69-year-old Wasilla man is facing murder charges after he allegedly shot and killed his daughter late Tuesday night.
Michael Wolverton has been charged with first-and second-degree murder and fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon, according to court records. He made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
Just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, Wolverton called 911 to report he had shot and killed his daughter — 47-year-old Shannan Wolverton — at his home on Mariah Drive, located off Wasilla-Fishook Road, according to a sworn affidavit filed by Sgt. Michael Henry with Alaska State Troopers.
The 69-year-old told a dispatcher he shot his daughter in the face following an argument about her bringing home a man he didn’t approve of, the affidavit says. The man, who has not been identified, was not at the home when the shooting occurred, Wolverton told authorities.
The dispatcher also asked Wolverton if Shannan had threatened him.
“Michael answered in the affirmative, but he did not elaborate,” Henry wrote.
An investigator sent to the scene of the alleged crime observed that Wolverton smelled of alcohol. He provided a breath sample a little before 1 a.m. Wednesday that registered a .135 BrAC, the affidavit says.
Wolverton said he had three shots of brandy Tuesday night. When he went to his room to sleep, he said Shannan, who had been living with him for a few months, followed him “and was nagging him,” Henry wrote.
Wolverton said Shannan wouldn’t listen to him when he asked her to leave. He pulled out his .44 caliber pistol and told her to go away again, the affidavit says. Later, however, he told Henry he woke up to Shannan in his bedroom, “screaming at him from the end of his bed.”
“He said Shannan asked, ‘What are you going to do, shoot me?’ Michael said Shannan told him to go ahead and shoot her and she repeated that three times,” Henry wrote.
Then, Wolverton opened fire, he said. Her remains have been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, troopers said. A bullet recovered from Wolverton’s bedroom and the pistol will also be sent to a crime lab for comparison.
Henry said he interviewed Wolverton a few hours after his daughter’s death. Wolverton told the sergeant his family suspects Shannan had a mental health disorder, but was never diagnosed.
“Michael said she occasionally has episodes where she yells a lot and sometimes gets physically violent,” Henry said.
Her fit Tuesday night, however, was different because Wolverton said she was more aggressive. Wolverton also told Henry he “felt vulnerable because his health is poor.”
Shawn Wolverton, Wolverton’s son, told an investigator Shannan did have a history of violence.
–Editor’s note: Troopers initially provided an incorrect spelling of Shannan Wolverton’s name. The story has been revised to correct the error.