Dakota Koda Morningstar, 32, was shot and killed late the night of April 13, 2025, in the rural Hurleton area east of Oroville, California. Deputies who responded to reports of a woman with a gunshot wound found Morningstar in the 600 block of Black Bart Road with what appeared to be a shotgun wound to her lower left side; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses reported she had been involved in a verbal argument that ended in the fatal shooting.

Butte County authorities charged 43-year-old Curtis Ector Morales of Hurleton with murder. Morales, described in charging documents as Morningstar’s ex-girlfriend and former cohabitant at the Black Bart Road residence, was arrested and booked. Detectives located a short-barreled shotgun concealed in a manzanita bush on the property; the District Attorney charged Morales with murder with the use of a firearm and possession of a short-barreled shotgun. Bail was set at $2,015,000 and Morales was arraigned on April 16, 2025.

If anyone witnessed the argument that night or has information about the events on Black Bart Road, please share what you know.