Judge Rejects ‘Deal of the Century’ in Dad’s Face-Shooting Case

A Wyoming judge has rejected a proposed plea agreement that would have allowed a 25-year-old man accused of shooting the mother of his 5-year-old daughter in the face to serve fewer than 20 years in prison.

Fremont County District Judge Jason Conder turned down the agreement Thursday in the case against Sterling Louis Black Jr., who is charged in the death of 24-year-old Angelina Bell.

Black was originally charged with second-degree murder. Under the rejected agreement, he would have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment and received an 18-to-20-year sentence at a state correctional facility, according to a report by Cowboy State Daily.

Bell’s father, Byron Bell, told the newspaper that he strongly opposed the proposal, describing it as the “deal of the century.” He said he was relieved after Conder rejected it.

“I wanted the judge to understand that my daughter’s life wasn’t worth any number, especially 18 to 20 years,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “I believe the more years her killer spends behind bars the better.”

Conder reportedly objected primarily because the agreement would have left him without discretion at sentencing. The deal called for an 18-to-20-year term regardless of the circumstances.

As Law&Crime previously reported, the couple’s 5-year-old daughter found her mother inside a room at the Ol’ Wyoming Motel, located in the 400 block of North Federal Boulevard in Riverton, on March 7.

An unidentified caller reportedly told a 911 dispatcher that a “little girl found her mother and was not sure if she was conscious, but could see lots of blood.” Officers who arrived at the motel determined that the woman, later identified as Angelina Bell, had been shot in the face, according to court documents.

The girl led police to her mother’s body.

“Momma’s in my bathroom,” the child reportedly told officers.

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Police later took the girl to the station, where she spoke with a victim-witness coordinator. During those interviews, investigators said, she made several comments about events inside the motel room.

Investigators said the girl’s statements included:

“Daddy went for a walk.”
“Mommy has blood on her.”
“Daddy was mad at Mommy.”
“Mommy’s dead.”

Detectives found a spent 9 mm shell casing in the bathroom toilet. They also recovered a plastic case for a SAR 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, although the gun itself was initially missing. According to investigators, the case contained two empty magazines.

A probable cause affidavit said Bell had an apparent bullet entry wound near the bridge of her nose, beside her right eye.

Investigators also documented stippling, a pattern left when gunpowder particles strike the skin, across Bell’s face. Police said the stippling, along with the absence of gas burns, indicated that the gun had been fired from a distance of “several inches to 2 feet.” No exit wound was found.

“Also located in the bathroom were signs of drug and alcohol use,” a detective wrote.

Several hours after Bell’s body was found, Black contacted authorities and said he intended to surrender.

Cowboy State Daily reported that Black’s father told police he located his son in an abandoned trailer on the family’s property and urged him to “do what is right.” The father also surrendered a SAR 9 mm handgun, which police said had a serial number matching the case recovered at the motel.

The judge reportedly ordered Black and the state to file status reports with the court by Oct. 30 and permitted Black to withdraw his guilty plea. Unless a different resolution can be reached, Black is scheduled to begin his jury trial on the second-degree murder charge Jan. 25, 2027.

The post Judge nixes ‘deal of the century’ for dad who got ‘mad’ and shot mom in face, left body for 5-year-old to find: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.