Trial Begins for Man Accused of Martin City Murder

The murder trial of a 42-year-old Kila man accused of fatally shooting a Hungry Horse woman and seriously injuring her husband outside of a Martin City bar in 2022 is now underway in Flathead County District Court, with jury selection and opening statements taking place on Monday, July 22.

The 14-member jury panel, which includes two alternates, heard opening statements and the first witness testimony in the case against Del Orrin Crawford, who has pleaded not guilty to five felonies including one count of deliberate homicide and a second count of attempted deliberate homicide. He’s also charged with a third count of evidence tampering and two additional felony counts of assault with a weapon.

Judge Dan Wilson is presiding over the trial.

Montana Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Selene Koepke, who is serving as a special deputy county attorney in the case, told the jury that an argument escalated between Crawford and 28-year-old shooting victim Whisper Sellars in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, 2022 outside of the South Fork Saloon in Martin City.

According to Koepke, Sellars had been sitting in a golf cart that belonged to an affiliate of Crawford’s when he confronted her about it in a verbal argument followed by physical contact. Crawford shoved Sellars, which caused her husband, Doug Crosswhite, to defend his wife by pushing Crawford to the ground.

At this point, Crawford shot at the couple, according to Koepke, killing Sellars and seriously injuring Crosswhite, who was transported to the hospital via ALERT air ambulance.

Koepke noted that two of the victim’s companions – Alicia Crosswhite and Kristin Lundstrom – were also at the scene and became involved in the altercation, but Crawford chose not to attack them.

“He made a choice to shoot Whisper, who he’ll say was aggressive and in his face,” Koepke said. “He chose to shoot the two people who, by his own account, mistreated him. And then after, he chose to fire those two shots. He again made another choice to not shoot Alicia. Again, he threatened her, he pointed a gun at her, but he made the choice not to pull the trigger.”

Following the incident, Crawford fled the scene and called 911 dispatchers but later refused to tell detectives where the firearm was located. During an interview with law enforcement later that morning, there was no mention if anyone in the victim’s party was armed, according to Koepke.

“His version of violent by – by his own words – is being backed up by a 5-foot-7, 140-pound female,” Koepke said. “His life was in danger because he was, quote, ‘being berated by some b**** and her husband standing behind her.”

In Crawford’s defense attorney’s version of events, Peter Lacny described the case as self-defense, in which the defendant feared for his life when a group of highly intoxicated individuals attacked him.

“Mr. Crawford was outnumbered outside the bar that night,” Lacny said. “He was, in the words of the other group, knocked to the ground by Mr. Crosswhite. He was stuck between a fence and a boulder, he was stunned … he did what he had to do in those fateful seconds.”

Lacny described Crawford as a “normal Montana person” who was out at the South Fork Saloon that night with a wedding party following a rehearsal dinner. Rooted in a passion of hunting and fishing, he regularly carried a concealed firearm on him, a Smith & Wesson pistol in a holster in the small of his back.

That night, Crawford had been transporting members of the wedding party to and from the bar in the golf cart. Later in the evening, Crawford and his friend exited the saloon where he found Whisper inside of the vehicle, which quickly led to a heated argument and the eventual shooting.

According to Lacny, Crawford then immediately turned himself into authorities and claimed self-defense from the start; however, Lacny conceded his client acted strangely during an interview with detectives, refusing to tell law enforcement any details about the evening. The lawyer described Crawford’s behavior as a fight-or-flight response to the traumatic event, which affected his memory.

During witness testimony, Doug Crosswhite told the court that he had been at the South Fork Saloon for a birthday celebration with his wife and three other family members and friends. He described his party as intoxicated when Whisper and Crawford got into a “screaming match.”

“Del had given Whisper a shove on the shoulders,” Crosswhite said. “It wasn’t terribly aggressive, but I was not OK with it, so I briskly walked over and gave him a shove to the ground. I took a step back and pointed at him and said, ‘Don’t you ever touch my wife again.”

Crosswhite told the court Crawford looked shocked, at which point Crosswhite said he felt a “massive pain” in his arm, which he said was the result of the gunshot. He was then airlifted to the hospital after the bullet shattered his arm and destroyed an artery and nerves while also collapsing his lung before lodging into his liver, where it remains.

Witness testimony will continue Tuesday, July 23 at 9 a.m.

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