The Murder of Daniel Halseth
For this case, I watched an episode of American Monster. It’s season 10 episode 2, titled ‘Day Three After Murder.’
A loving father of 3 suddenly stops responding to phone calls and text messages.
Background
Daniel Halseth was a family man. He had wanted to be a dad from a young age and loved his 3 kids.
In 2000, Daniel and his future wife, Elizabeth met. At the time, Daniel was attending Western Oregon University. He earned his bachelor's degree in music.
They got married in July 2001. Their kids were born in 2002, 2003, and 2004.
In 2006, Daniel was offered an IT job in Las Vegas. It was a high-paying job, so he was excited. He and Elizabeth were also involved in politics in Las Vegas.
In 2010, Elizabeth ran for and won a senate position in Nevada. Daniel stayed at home to work, so he could be home with the kids.
Elizabeth had to travel a lot for her career. She and Daniel became distant. Daniel wanted to save the marriage, so they tried counseling. It didn’t work, and he filed for divorce.
Daniel Halseth
The Divorce
The divorce was especially hard for Daniel and Elizabeth’s youngest daughter, Sierra. She had always distanced herself from those around her. She was also described as self-centered and selfish.
Daniel had found that music and dancing with Sierra worked. They seemed to have a really close bond.
In 2012, Elizabeth moved to Alaska with the kids. Daniel was devastated. He threw himself into work. In 2013, Daniel had gotten a new job and moved to Texas.
By 2020, Elizabeth had remarried and moved back to Las Vegas with the kids. In March 2020, Daniel had business in Las Vegas. He stayed with a friend named Peggy Newman. The COVID pandemic hit, so Daniel stayed with Peggy for longer than he had planned. Daniel was excited to be close to his kids again.
The Custody Battle
Daniel confided in Peggy that Sierra had sent him odd messages about how she was scared and uncomfortable. There was never any evidence that Sierra had been mistreated in her mother’s house.
In June 2020, Sierra made some comments while around her grandmother and cousins. Sierra had been asked what she did when she didn’t get her way. According to her grandmother, Christine, Sierra had said that she would get rid of her parents.
Sierra also made the decision that she didn’t want to return to her mother’s house. Daniel petitioned the court for full custody of Sierra. Daniel rented a house from his friend, Peggy, and moved in with Sierra.
During the custody hearing, Daniel had been told to return Sierra to her mother’s house. Sierra ran away and went back to Daniel’s house.
Sierra began sneaking out of the house. She had met an 18-year-old named Aaron Guerrero. They had met online. Sierra and Aaron’s families both agreed that they didn’t want the two of them to see each other. Sierra continued to talk to Aaron without her dad’s knowledge.
Daniel and Sierra Halseth
The 911 Call
On April 7, 2021, Daniel posted a photo of a billboard on his way home from the airport. He had returned from a business trip to Boston. This was the last time anyone had heard from him.
On April 8, Daniel’s mom, Christine tried contacting him. She also texted Sierra. But, Sierra told her that Daniel’s phone was just not working. Christine didn’t believe her and said she would call the police to check if she didn’t hear from Daniel. Christine also contacted Peggy to check on Daniel.
On Friday, April 9, Peggy and her friend, Joey went to Daniel’s house. Christine had notified Sierra that Peggy and Joey would be coming over.
The door to the house was left unlocked. The house was filled with smoke. In the garage, Joey and Peggy found a body. Joey called the police and believed that the body was Sierra’s, not Daniel’s. It was eventually positively identified as Daniel’s.
Daniel’s body was severely burnt. It was hard for the first responders to determine if the body was male or female. The cause of death was sharp force injuries. Daniel had about 70 wounds on his body. More than half of the injuries were to his neck, head, and shoulder area. One of his wrists was partially dismembered. No soot was found in Daniel’s lungs. He was dead before the fire had been set.
A Horrible Way to Die
The evidence suggested that Daniel had been attacked while he was on the couch in the living room. There were no signs of forced entry. The key was actually found in the lock of the front door.
There were several mops found, and several cleaning agents found around the house. A table saw, chainsaw, and blades were all found inside the house.
The police also found several receipts. One of the receipts was from Bank of America. On the surveillance footage, Sierra could be seen driving Daniel’s car. She withdrew about $600 on April 8. Aaron Guerrero was seen sitting in the passenger seat next to her.
The other receipts were from Home Depot and WinCo Foods. Aaron was seen on the surveillance footage at Home Depot. Aaron purchased the saws and blades found inside the home. Sierra purchased several bottles of bleach from WinCo around 2:50 am on April 8.
The Arrests
On April 9, the police prepared arrest warrants for Sierra and Aaron. The warrants were sent out to other police departments and jurisdictions.
On April 13, Sierra and Aaron were found in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had been found on a bus. They could be seen on surveillance footage making out on the bus.
They were asked for their tickets but didn’t have any. They handed over their IDs and their warrants popped up. They were taken into custody and taken back to Las Vegas.
The police found a cell phone in their possession. They downloaded the contents of the phone. There were videos of them giggling and kissing. In one video, they talked about how it was day 3 after they had just murdered Daniel. They also spoke about how much sex they had that day. There was no remorse in either one of them.
Sierra’s DNA had been found on one of the knives that had been used to stab Daniel. Aaron’s DNA had been found on the other. Their original plan had been to dismember Daniel. At 10:42 am, Sierra had been notified that her grandmother was going to call the police. They panicked and set the house on fire.
Sierra and Aaron both pled guilty to murdering Daniel. They were sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 22 years.
Aaron Guerrero and Sierra
FINAL THOUGHTS
The videos of them kissing and giggling reminded me of the videos of Nicholas and Gypsy Rose after they had killed her mom. It was horrifying and alarming to see that they had no remorse. Sierra’s family had known that something was wrong with her but didn’t believe she was capable of hurting her dad. Sierra and Aaron both have ruined their lives but also ruined the lives of everyone around them. Daniel is not here anymore, and won’t be able to see his other children grow up.
Sources
https://morbidology.com/the-gruesome-case-of-daniel-halseth/
