“Daddy was mad at Mommy”: Young girl finds mother dead in Riverton murder case

The young daughter of a 24-year-old woman found dead Saturday with an apparent gunshot wound to the face in a Riverton motel room told authorities, “Daddy was mad at Mommy,” and “Mommy’s dead,” according to court documents.

Sterling Louis Black Jr., 25, turned himself in to police Saturday afternoon and now faces one count of second-degree murder, punishable by between 20 years and life in prison.

Riverton police responded around 7 a.m. Saturday to the Ol’ Wyoming Motel after a dispatcher received a call reporting that “a little girl found her mother and was not sure if she was conscious but could see lots of blood.”

Officers found Angelina Rose Bell, 24, lying on her right side on the bathroom floor with blood pooling under her head and no signs of life. A spent 9mm bullet casing was found in the toilet bowl.

A little girl at the scene told an officer, “Momma’s in my bathroom.” Later, she reportedly told a victim witness coordinator, “Daddy went for a walk,” “Mommy has blood on her,” and “Mommy’s dead.”

Investigators found a plastic case for a SAR 9mm semiautomatic handgun containing two empty magazines but no gun. A bullet recovered from the bathroom floor is believed to have caused the injury.

The coroner noted a bullet entry wound near the bridge of Bell’s nose next to her right eye, with stippling indicating the gun was fired from several inches to two feet away—not a contact shot typical of suicide.

Motel security video showed Black leaving the room around 5:21 a.m. He had been renting the room since Feb. 12. No neighbors reported hearing gunshots or arguing.

Bell’s family members provided consistent statements about abuse between the couple starting in late December or early January, with Bell telling them Black had hit her on multiple occasions and that they knew he had a gun.

Black’s father told investigators he found his son in an abandoned trailer on his property and urged him to “do what is right.” The father turned over the gun, which matched the serial number on the case found in the motel room.

Black provided a breath alcohol sample roughly 12 hours after the alleged crime showing a .06% reading. He had a small cut on his left thumb but no other injuries.