Kaysera Stops at Pretty Places Murder
Eighteen year old Kaysera Stops at Pretty Places lived on a Crow reservation near Hardin, Montana. She was a kind hearted teenager who often took care of stray animals that she found.
She often stayed with her aunt, Percelia Brown, when she visited Hardin. On Saturday, August 24, 2019, she was with Percelia’s niece, Isabella Villegas, and Isabella’s boyfriend, Natosi Summers, and another girl, who was a minor.
Natosi Summers, who lives with his mother in the house next to the yard where Kaysera’s body was later found, graduated from Haskell University in Lawrence, Kansas, in 2018. He wrestled competitively, and is a trained MMA fighter.
He had been fighting with Isabella. When the girls tried to leave, Natosi Summers physically restrained Isabella, preventing her from leaving. As the other girls were trying to help Isabella escape from her abusive boyfriend, a police car showed up.
Whether the officer was responding to a call, or simply patrolling the area, is unclear. In any event, when they saw the police car, they all scattered.
Later, Isabella and her friend returned, but were unable to locate Kaysera. They wanted to search around the house, and in the back yard, but Natosi Summers would not allow that. At one point, he got mad, and started chasing them around in his car.
When Kaysera didn’t return home the following morning, her family became worried, and started calling around to see if anyone knew where she was. After failing to turn up any leads, her aunt went to the Sheriff’s Department to file a Missing Persons report. The deputy suggested that Kaysera had simply run away, and stated that he was unable to file a report until more time had elapsed.
This is where Kaysera’s body was found by a jogger four days later, on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
The discovery of the body was not reported in the local news. However, Percelia heard a rumor that the body of a young female had been found, and went to investigate. Police on the scene told her it was not Kaysera, and they refused to allow her to see the body so she could make an identification.
Witnesses reported that this was not treated as a crime scene, even though the body was found wrapped in plastic. Witnesses also stated that the grass was still green, indicating that the body had not been there the whole time. Also, it was in an area where anyone who walked past should have seen it.
On Saturday, August 31, 2019, Percelia, along with Kaysera’s mother, Geralyn Bulltail Stops, went to the Bullis Mortuary to find out whether the body was in fact that of Kaysera Stops at Pretty Places. The person they encountered at the mortuary assured them that it was not her.
On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, Kaysera’s family was notified by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department that the body discovered did in fact belong to Kaysera.
Only after filing a complaint against Coroner Terry Bullis, who also happens to own the Bullis Mortuary, did they discover that the body had now been sent to the crime lab in Billings, MT.
The coroner then informed the mother that she would have to agree to have the body cremated, before the remains could be returned to the family. She agreed, even though that violated the customs of her people, because she was told that was the only way she could retrieve her daughter’s remains.
A significant amount of alcohol was found in her system. I understand that a body’s decomposition produces a certain amount of alcohol. Of course, prior to her death, she had spent time with a man who had a reputation for purchasing alcohol for underage girls.
No cause of death was ever determined. Hypothermia was mentioned as a possibility, but asphyxiation was not ruled out. Maybe she managed to climb this 5 foot fence while she was heavily intoxicated. Then she passed out, and died of hypothermia. Oh, and she wrapped herself in plastic in a futile effort to keep warm. I’d make a great defense attorney.
A few days prior to her disappearance, there was an incident where Kaysera videoed a Big Horn County Sheriff’s Deputy as he beat her younger brother, who was in a wheelchair, and uploaded it to social media.
There has been speculation that the deputy may have murdered her in retaliation. That was my initial suspicion, as I began looking into this case. After reviewing the details, I consider that unlikely.
If the deputy wanted to murder her, it would have been too easy to simply shoot her, and falsely accuse her of having reached for his weapon. If he killed her and wanted to cover it up for some reason, he probably would have transported the body to another location.
Dead bodies are notoriously difficult to lift. He would have had a hard time putting the body over the fence unassisted, and someone would likely have seen him do it, particularly if he also took the time to wrap the body in plastic.
We should also keep in mind that this is a busy intersection. For that reason, it is very unlikely that the killer, whoever he was, would have put the body over the fence at that location. My guess is that it was brought into the yard from another location late at night.
On the left, we see the house that Natosi Summers shares with his mother. Recall that Natosi became enraged when Isabella and the other girl tried to search behind the house.
The red line is the path by which the body might have been transported to the spot where it was ultimately discovered. The blue line is the point where it might have been hoisted over the fence.
Here is a close up of the spot denoted by the blue line. There appears to be some kind of a shed at that location.
As I mentioned before, lifting a dead body can be incredibly difficult. However, it would be much easier once Rigor Mortis had set in. Getting it over a 5 foot fence would still be a challenge, but there are tools that could make it easier. A ladder is one possibility. Also, Natosi is an MMA fighter. His physical strength is likely to be exceptional.
The house on the corner is owned by an elderly white man who does not appear to have any connection to the case. He does not seem to be talking to anyone. Maybe he doesn’t know anything. Maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe he’s afraid that, if he talks, his body will be found wrapped in plastic, and the coroner will determine that he died of natural causes prior to disposing of the body.
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department, and presumably the sheriff himself, knows that Kaysera Stops at Pretty Places was murdered. They know who did it. In conjunction with the Coroner, they are protecting the killer. Why might they do that?
As I mentioned earlier, some are suggesting that the deputy who was recorded beating Kaysera’s younger brother who was in a wheelchair might have murdered her in retaliation. I don’t believe that. However, he was one of the first to respond when the body was discovered. Did he know that this was the body of the woman who had recently embarrassed him online?
I suppose that’s a possibility, but we don’t really need to go there. At the very least, he probably saw her as garbage, because she was Native American.
I have seen racism, but anything that extreme is unusual. Most of the racism that I have witnessed has been directed against Blacks, not Native Americans. I have known Native Americans. I even went to school with a few of them. I have yet to hear anyone express any kind of animosity towards them.
I have never visited Hardin, Montana, but I have heard that it is that bad. A rape might be dismissed with this, “Boys will be boys”, attitude, especially if the victim is indigenous.
Any time two cultures live in close proximity to one another, a certain amount of conflict is to be expected. Some conflict may be due to misunderstandings. Aside from that, each culture has its own norms, and those norms are enforced.
If I view a Black woman as less than human, that means I can enslave her, rape her on an ongoing basis, and still be a good Christian. I can even do that if I’m married. I’m not really cheating on my wife, because slaves don’t count.
If I view an indigenous man as less than human, I can kill him and take his land. It’s no worse than shooting a deer. I do not mean to demonize the White race. Native Americans were killing each other for the same reasons before the Europeans arrived. Whatever the race, we humans are very dangerous animals.
Our White ancestors viewed the natives as subhuman, because it was profitable to view them that way. I understand that isn’t the only issue. A man might hate Indians because Indians killed his father. That is one of the ways this hatred is perpetuated, but it isn’t how it started.
The desire to take their land might explain why indigenous people were hated in the 19th century. What could possibly explain that kind of hatred in 21st century Hardin, Montana?
Let’s say you’re a white man who works on oil pipelines. Every time some tribe complains about a treaty violation, they are threatening your livelihood. The end result is that you hate them for the same reason your ancestors did.
I hate it when people use this type of reasoning to attack capitalism. I think that’s a bit like trying to combat rape by outlawing sex.
Natosi’s mother, Melissa Shane Holds the Enemy, is an attorney. She has done some work for the Crow, alongside Jay Harris, who is currently the Big Horn County Attorney.
Most attorneys do not have enough pull to be able to shield a family member from murder charges, but in a town where the coroner assists the sheriff in covering up murders and then disposes of the bodies in his own mortuary, it could happen.
Melissa’s husband, Marcus Red Thunder, who lives in Billings, Montana, is a trainer and consultant with the Native Wellness Institute. Here is a video of him with his wife. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Ggu7mazRI
Judging from the video, he does strike me as a decent man. That doesn’t mean he is a decent man necessarily, but I’m not prepared to say he isn’t. In no way does that preclude his stepson from being a murderer.
Kaysera’s aunt, Cedar Rose Bulltail, took in her brother’s child, a toddler, because the parents were unable to care for the child. This may have been sometime around 2008, though I have been unable to obtain an exact date.
In 2010, she filed a complaint in Crow Tribal Court, alleging that she was assaulted by BIA police officer Steven Red Cloud, when he showed up to take the child from her.
There was no suggestion that she was abusive, or that the child was in any danger. Apparently, it was a custody dispute between her and the child’s maternal grandmother.
Steven Red Cloud is now a special agent with the Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force, based in Billings, Montana.
I do not know exactly what transpired when he showed up to take the child, or why he did so for that matter. Was there a court order of some kind? I simply don’t know.
Even if we assume the worst of Steven Red Cloud, with regard to the incident involving Cedar Rose Bulltail, that doesn’t necessarily mean he would want to protect the person who murdered her niece.
I do believe this is yet another reason why the case has gone unsolved for so long. It isn’t like a serial killer just wandered into town, and killed a young girl at random without leaving any clues for police.
Some people are deliberately protecting a killer. Others are afraid to speak up, out of fear of retaliation from the killer and his family. Others would love to help, but they are afraid that, by trusting the police, they would merely be reporting one criminal to another.
Even if we assume the best about Steven Red Cloud, given the environment in which he is working, he isn’t going to solve shit.
I am attributing the problem to racism, and then claiming that the system is bending over backwards to protect an indigenous man who has committed a murder, and that many indigenous people are part of the problem. Some of the people who profited from the transatlantic slave trade were black. It is really no more unusual than that.
The only way this case is ever going to be solved is for the FBI to assume total control of the case, without involving local law enforcement, or anyone from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
I am not saying the FBI needs to do this every time there is an unsolved murder. The FBI simply does not have that kind of manpower. However, I believe the locals who actually want to do the right thing will be empowered to do so, once those who do not want to do the right thing end up in federal prison.
The FBI is not going to take it upon themselves to do something like that. They need an invitation, preferably from the Governor. If necessary, from the President.
I’ve put a lot of work into this story, and I’m not really interested in pursuing it any further. I am content to leave that to the professionals. You’re the hunter, and I’m the dog who barks when he sees something moving in the bushes. I will tell you where I might go, if I was to pursue it any further.
From his LinkedIn profile, I see that Marcus Red Thunder has had some involvement with residential treatment facilities. I wonder if he’s involved in any programs that accept referrals from the courts. I’m not making any accusations here, but an enterprising judge could make good money off of something like that.
Let’s say I decided to set up a meth lab. I’ll just make the meth, and start selling it locally.
I’m going to get some visitors. These visitors will explain to me that I’m welcome to continue operating my business, but that they will be expecting a cut. I make money. They make money. Everybody’s happy, as long as they get paid. That’s how it works.
Now I’ve got millions of dollars in drug money. I can’t go out and buy a house, because the IRS is going to want to know where I got all that money.
Fortunately, I have a friend who is the CEO of a local casino. I’ll just go in there and do some gambling. Then I’ll approach my friend, and say, “I’ve been spending all this money in your casino. I’m looking for a job. Think maybe you could put me on your board of directors?”
I won’t actually do anything. Just accept the title and the perks that come with it. My friend won’t mind, because he gets $2 in revenue for every $1 he gives me.
What if you decide to open up a casino, but you aren’t going to do any money laundering? You’re going to do everything by the book.
These visitors are going to show up, and explain what you have to do in order to remain in business. You will play their game, or they will kill you. Actually, it won’t even get that far. Without their assistance, you won’t even get the necessary permits to open up the place.
I don’t believe it’s possible to operate a casino anywhere in the country, without being involved in money laundering. Every now and then, a pizza place will get raided for money laundering. When’s the last time you heard of a casino getting raided?
The cops aren’t that stupid. They know what these people are doing, but they can’t prove it. Even if some cop was able to prove it, he needs to remember who he works for. These people have politicians in their pockets.
There are six casinos around Hardin, Montana. I don’t know who owns them, or what local connections they have. They will kill you if they have to, but they prefer to avoid that kind of attention when they can. It’s bad for business. Even so, I’m sure they consider themselves fortunate to have a coroner who owns his own mortuary.
Update: January 19, 2022
I have seen it reported elsewhere that Kaysera’s body had been wrapped in plastic before its presence was reported to police. I accepted that as the truth, because no one seemed to be disputing it, and I saw no reason to question it myself.
Someone recently told me that the body was not in fact wrapped in plastic. Without statements from actual eyewitnesses, I have no way of knowing what the truth is. I would really like to hear from the jogger who first discovered the body, but I don’t even know that person’s name.
All I can really do at this point is acknowledge that there is some disagreement on this matter, and hope the full truth will emerge during the course of a full investigation.
My suspicion is that the police covered the body, as is normal practice at an accident scene, and someone else came along, saw that the body was covered, and mistakenly assumed that was how it was found.
Of course, if the body was not covered, that makes it even less likely that it could have been there the whole time without someone seeing it.
