Crime & Courts

Palmer man charged with murder following fatal shooting in Butte

PALMER -- Leticia Faller, the 28-year-old Palmer woman killed by a gunshot wound to the head in Butte Sunday, received threatening messages before the shooting, court documents show.

And on Sunday, Faller gave her sister a letter signing over medical and school responsibilities for her 7-year-old daughter "in the event something has happened to me!" according to a sworn affidavit filed with charging documents at the Palmer courthouse Monday afternoon.

Alaska State Troopers say 31-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Wilson, of Palmer, shot Faller in the head Sunday evening outside a convenience store along the Old Glenn Highway in the Mat-Su community near Palmer. She was alive when troopers arrived but died early Monday morning after LifeMed Alaska flew her to Alaska Regional Hospital.

Troopers have charged Wilson with first- and second-degree murder, as well as third-degree assault. His first court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning. He was being held at Mat-Su Pretrial Facility Monday.

The shooting occurred outside a local fixture known as the "Green Store" at the intersection of the Old Glenn and Plumley Road that's marked with a yellow flashing light.

After the shooting, Faller's sister came to the troopers' Palmer post with the handwritten letter, as well as pictures of what was apparently a text message conversation between Faller and someone identified as "Big Ben," according to the affidavit from troopers Investigator Andrew Adams.

The texts included statements like "I can't help your family if you don't talk to me. You have nothing to fear from me. But (I) don't know how long I can make you 'OK' with my people. And my people want me to go back to work."

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Another message claims "we got Torin" -- Faller's boyfriend of three years, Torin Ford -- and asks if Faller will call now, the document says.

Faller also read her sister a text from an unnamed person threatening her life and that of her daughter, the sister told troopers.

The affidavit describes the Sunday night shooting using statements from Wilson and Ford, who was also there.

Here's what they told troopers, according to the document:

Wilson and Ford were at Faller's house until her father didn't want Ford there any more. Ford and Wilson pulled up at the Green Store in Wilson's red Dodge Dakota pickup, according to the affidavit from Investigator Adams. Faller pulled up separately in her car, a white Chevy Malibu. Ford got out of Wilson's truck.

Wilson told investigators that Faller got into the passenger seat of the Dodge, brought out a knife and cursed at him. He then shot her in the head, according to the affidavit.

Torin ran after the shot was fired, looked back, and saw Wilson pointing the gun at him, it says.

Wilson fled in his pickup and called 911.

At 9:49 p.m., dispatchers told troopers someone on nearby Marth Road was on an open line saying he had just killed someone. Another caller reported Faller had been shot and it wasn't clear if she was breathing.

Troopers pulled into the Marth Road address and found Wilson, who said, "'(W)hy did I shoot her! Why?" Adams wrote. "She had a knife. I could have taken it from her. Why did I shoot her?'"

Troopers say they arrested Wilson at 11 a.m. Monday.

Friends described Faller as a hard worker who talked about her daughter all the time as a waitress at restaurants in the Mat-Su and Anchorage.

Kate Moyers waited tables with Faller at Valley Hotel in Palmer about three years ago. She more recently worked for a short time at Sacks Cafe in Anchorage.

"We mostly talked about her kids," Moyers said, adding that at the time Faller also had stepchildren. "She really fiercely loved her kids."

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

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