Silke Jasso
A mind-boggling case out of Anchorage, Alaska of attempted suicide turned second-degree murder is unlike any we’ve seen before and local police are saying the same.
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A 21-year-old man who attempted to take his own life and actually fired a bullet through his head wasn’t the one who ended up dead.
It was his 22-year-old girlfriend, Brittany-Mae Haag, who tried to stop him from killing himself who died.
They had been together for six years.
Police there recovered one shell casing from the scene and determined that a bullet passed through Victor Sibson’s head and struck Haag fatally in the chest.
While both were taken to the hospital, only Sibson survived. It was thought that he wouldn’t make it. Haag died later that day on April 19.
Sibson, whose blood alcohol level showed that he had been drinking heavily — he was three times the legal limit — claims that he doesn’t remember exactly what happened. But police say that the evidence indicates only “one shot being fired.”
The man, who faces the charge of second-degree murder, appeared in court wearing a helmet to cover the injuries he sustained from the shooting.
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Sibson has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, for which he could face 99 years behind bars.
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Understandably, the family of the deceased still can’t make sense of the situation.
“[Police said] that it was a shot from Victor Sibson, that he shot my daughter,” said Haag’s mother, Sheila Lopez, told KTVA. “I was hurt because Victor has been part of our family. He called me mom.”
“Knowing my daughter, I would do the same thing, too. If someone was trying to kill them self, I would go and try to stop them, and I know that that’s what she would do. So, now it makes sense to me,” she continued. “I’m very angry – that anger will never go away.”
The victim’s sister, Chelsea Hartman, said “it’s just not fair.”
“I think a lot of it is still hard to grasp of how is it just one bullet, you know? And how does it go through one person and then the other person and kill the second person? It’s just not fair,” Hartman said. “They always seemed happy. Always hugging, always kissing, always for each other. There was no greater love than what they had.”
A judge on Sunday entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Sibson during a courtroom appearance, KTUU-TV reported. Sibson wore a helmet covering his injuries during the proceedings.
Sibson was jailed for lack of $250,000 bond. He could face up to 99 years in prison if convicted of the charge.
He told the judge that he is unemployed and could not afford a lawyer.
“Could we figure out if I’m guilty or not today?” he asked the judge, KTVA-TV reported.
Sibson was indicted by a grand jury last week. He turned himself in Friday after police issued an advisory saying officers were not able to find him for two days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
