On the evening of August 29, 2022, Justin R Bracken, 34, of Leeds, North Dakota, was found dead in a wheat field in Towner County alongside three other men. The scene near the Towner-Benson County line was the site of a violent family dispute that culminated in a murder-suicide. Justin, his uncle Richard Bracken, 64, and their employer, 56-year-old farmer Douglas Dulmage, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were killed.

Authorities report that the suspect was Justin’s father, 59-year-old Robert Bracken, who was found at the scene with a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound and a .357-caliber revolver in his possession. Investigators described a growing conflict between Robert and his brother Richard in the days before the shootings as the apparent motive. No arrests were made because the person identified as responsible died at the scene.

If anyone saw activity in the wheat fields near the Towner-Benson County line on or before August 29, 2022, or has information about tensions in the family that might shed light on what led to this tragedy, please share what is known.