Leon Allan Paulson, 32, was shot and killed on the night of April 18, 2015, in Lemmon, South Dakota. A lifelong town resident and a 2001 Lemmon High School graduate, Paulson worked as a carpenter and had played football, wrestling, and track; he was married to Jeanne and was father to a daughter and a son.

Authorities say the fatal confrontation occurred at the home of 22-year-old Brady James Hooker after an argument. Hooker was taken into custody and charged with first-degree manslaughter. Arrest papers and later reporting say Paulson had gone to Hooker’s residence allegedly intoxicated and angry that his wife had been there earlier; Hooker, his common-law wife Samantha Briscoe, and another witness say Paulson entered uninvited and assaulted Hooker and a friend before Hooker shot him.

A grand jury later indicted Samantha Briscoe on a charge of first-degree aiding, abetting, or advising manslaughter, alleging she provided the AR-15 used in the shooting. Accounts differ on whether the killing was self-defense or a deadly escalation of the argument. Anyone who knew Leon, the household, or saw events that night is asked to come forward with information.