Serena Spider, 26, a Native American woman from Rapid City, South Dakota, was found late the night of May 3, 2023, after gunfire near the intersection of Lacrosse Street and East Omaha Street. Officers were dispatched about 9:00 p.m.; she was located on the ground in grass between Lacrosse Street and Brennan Avenue and was taken to a local hospital, where she died of a gunshot wound.

Investigators focused on someone believed to have been known to Spider rather than a random assailant. Duane Sierra, then 21, was interviewed by the Rapid City Police Department and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and was arrested and booked into the Pennington County Jail on a second-degree murder charge. Prosecutors later said the shooting had been treated as a targeted act.

By May 10, 2024, prosecutors announced a judge had granted a defense motion to suppress Sierra’s confession and that a key witness had refused to cooperate; the charges were dismissed without prejudice at that time. What information about Serena or the night of May 3 could help clarify what happened?