HARDIN - A man has been charged in connection with the death of 16-year-old Selena Not Afraid, who disappeared on Jan. 1, 2020 after attending a New Year's Eve party in Billings.
Robert Alvin Morning-Bromley III has been charged in Big Horn County District Court with two counts of felony criminal endangerment. Prosecutors allege Morning-Bromley left the teenager and an adult at a rest stop off Interstate 90 between Hardin and Billings knowing they were both intoxicated and not dressed for the weather.
The charges allege Morning-Bromley's actions "created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury" to Not Afraid and the adult by leaving them at the rest stop under the circumstances. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Neither of the victims are named in the charging documents, but Not Afraid's aunt, Cheryl Horn, confirmed Tuesday that the charges are related to her niece. The adult victim is identified in charging documents as "Adult Doe."
“You don't want to necessarily move on, but you want to heal. But you don't want to leave things the way they were,” Horn said on Tuesday. “It's time to let Sal rest and get some closure, hold some accountability and I'm very thankful.”
Not Afraid's disappearance and death drew national attention at the time and her case was among a handful that sparked growth in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons movement.
“I just like to hope that this is just the beginning for cases that our prosecutors, our county, our city, all our attorneys are just taking on the cases, you know, not just pick and choosing the wins, but just treating each case as important as the next one,” Horn said. "Don't give up on it on your loved one. So even if it's always praying for justice, doesn't always mean it has to be a fight because that's what I don't like, the fight for justice. I don't like that saying. I don't like that word. I don't like that. It's a fight. You know, that should never be two words together for families."
Not Afraid was reported missing shortly after leaving Billings where she had attended a New Year's Eve party. A massive search effort was launched centered on the rest stop off I-90 where she was last seen, and her body was found on Jan. 20 about 1.5 miles from the rest stop. Authorities later determined she died of hypothermia, but few details have been released since that time explaining the circumstances of her death until now.
The charging documents filed against Morning-Bromley state that on Dec. 31 a person identified by the initials J.B. dropped Not Afraid off at a New Year's Eve party in Billings and watched her enter the residence. J.B. returned to the residence at about 2 p.m. the following day looking for Not Afraid but she and others had already caught a ride with Morning-Bromley back to Hardin.
The documents state Not Afraid, the unidentified adult and three others were given a ride in a van by Morning-Bromley and the group "continually consumed extensive amounts of alcohol." Morning-Bromley later told investigators that the van he was driving had mechanical issues with the water pump causing him to stop and start the vehicle at different locations on the trip from Billings to Hardin.
When the group reached the closed rest area Morning-Bromley pulled in by passing a gate. Both Not Afraid and the adult got out of the van, and Morning-Bromley "was aware that both (Not Afraid and the adult) had been drinking a bottle of Black Velvet while traveling and were highly intoxicated," court documents state.
Morning-Bromley got the vehicle running and called for the two to get back in the van but neither listened to his instructions and he left the rest stop without them, according to the court records. Neither was dressed for the weather conditions, and the adult did not have shoes on.
Morning-Bromley called his mother who was traveling the same direction in another vehicle about 15 minutes behind and asked her to pick up Not Afraid and the adult at the rest stop. When the woman arrived she found the adult who said Not Afraid had run "into the field south of the rest area, across the fence, and towards the hills," according to charging documents. The woman honked the horn but left after receiving no response.
When Morning-Bromley's mother arrived in Hardin she informed him of what happened. He stated he did not know who the girls were but that they were "(b)eing little bitches and wouldn't get in," court records state.
Morning-Bromley did not contact police or other authorities to report Not Afraid had been left at the rest stop, court records state, and there is no record of him "ever calling or reporting to law enforcement that (Not Afraid) was missing."
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