Montana Man Faces Life in Prison for Fatal Shooting of Woman and Attempted Murder During Parking Lot Altercation
(KPAX-TV/Facebook)
A Montana man, Del Orrin Crawford, has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for the fatal shooting of Whisper Dawn Mari Sellars and the attempted murder of her husband, Doug Crosswhite, during a parking lot altercation in 2022. Crawford, 42, was found guilty in July on charges of deliberate homicide, attempted deliberate homicide, assault with a weapon, and evidence tampering.
He was acquitted of a separate assault with a weapon charge. The incident occurred on August 27, 2022, in the parking lot of the Southfork Saloon in Martin City, near Glacier National Park. Crawford had been driving a golf cart to shuttle guests between a wedding rehearsal and the bar when an argument erupted.
Sellars and another woman confronted Crawford, accusing him of misplacing the golf cart keys. Crawford reportedly pushed Sellars, prompting her husband, Doug, to push him back. Prosecutors argued that Crawford fired his gun in anger, fatally shooting Sellars and critically injuring Crosswhite. However, Crawford claimed self-defense, telling investigators, “I argued with these folks for some time.
They won’t let me get on the golf cart and leave, and all they can tell me is, ‘If you don’t like what we’re doing, call the cops.’ I was on the ground, and they were on top of me in a public area. What more do I need to explain?” Sellars’ father-in-law, Robert Crosswhite, delivered an emotional statement during sentencing. “Del Crawford handed Whisper a death sentence.
He also intended to hand that sentence to Doug and, in doing so, he handed a life sentence to their kids and our family of a life without Whisper,” he said, as reported by the Flathead Beacon. The tragedy has left the family grappling with the loss of Sellars and the lasting impact of Doug Crosswhite’s injuries. A GoFundMe campaign organized by Robert Crosswhite has raised over $54,000 to help cover funeral expenses, medical costs, and support for Sellars’ five children.
Describing the incident on the fundraising page, Crosswhite called it “a senseless verbal dispute in which a coward of a man pushed my daughter-in-law.” He added, “My daughter-in-law died within minutes, on the ground next to my son as he lay struggling for every breath. His beautiful family’s life has been forever changed.” Crawford will serve his sentence in the Montana Department of Corrections, ensuring he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
