Mom and son kill man by beating him with shovel then running over him in SD, feds say
A man and woman in South Dakota were sentenced to prison after officials say they fatally beat a man and ran him over.
Theodora Belt, 47, and Bailey Belt, 23, were convicted of second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to a July news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota.
On Oct. 29, Theodora Belt was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Bailey Belt was sentenced to 27 years in prison, court records show.
The mother and son were convicted in connection to the death of 32-year-old Elijah Morrison.
McClatchy News reached out to attorneys for Theodora and Bailey Belt but did not immediately hear back.
911 calls
At 1:20 a.m. May 27, 2023, Morrison called police requesting an officer because he said Theodora Belt refused to let him leave his house in Bridger, according to a criminal complaint.
Just one minute later, Theodora Belt called police saying Morrison was trying to hit her with a hammer, then the call dropped, according to the court record.
At 1:34 a.m. Morrison’s mother called police and said “they were all fighting” and there was a fire at the home, officials said. Then, at 1:49 a.m. a resident in the community called police to report a fire and that they heard windows breaking.
At 2:17 a.m., Morrison’s mother called police again and said her son was in the driveway and that Theodora Belt started the fire.
Police arrived at the home at 2:24 a.m. and found Morrison in the driveway with a “deep laceration to his head” and a car and home on fire, officials said. Morrison died of his injuries.
Witnesses
Police said they found parts of a broken shovel inside the home and in a car, as well as “splintered wood covered in red stains consistent with blood” near Morrison’s body, court documents said.
Investigators spoke with a teenager who lived in the area. The teen told them they saw Theodora Belt and three others in the driveway and Theodora Belt was holding a shovel. The teen said he heard arguing, then the four people began to assault Morrison, the complaint said.
Morrison fell to the ground, and the four people began kicking him, the teen told officials, according to the court document.
Police also spoke to a neighbor who had surveillance video of the incident. On the video, officers heard a man say “run him over,” according to the complaint.
The neighbor said Bailey Belt was one of the people involved in the assault, and the surveillance video showed him kicking Morrison, officials said.
Then, the neighbor told police Theodora Belt and another person got into a vehicle and ran over Morrison, according to officials.
Officials said that Bailey Belt also assaulted another person with a shovel, causing them to be flown to a hospital for treatment.
Morrison’s older brother, Konan Morrison, told McClatchy News in an email that he was the person who was assaulted. He said he and his brother were both veterans who served in Iraq.
“He had PTSD (and) was getting help and going into a PTSD program,” Konan Morrison said. “He left behind 4 kids ... He was a living father.”
Konan Morrison said he and his brother were close.
“He was living with me and I finally got a home and gave him a room to lay his head. We had a home together and plans together,” he said.
Bridger is about a 100-mile drive northeast of Rapid City.
This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 12:23 PM.
