A U.S. airman is in custody for allegedly killing a woman on a South Dakota military base last year, authorities announced.
Quinterius Chappelle, 24, faces second-degree murder charges after the “badly decomposed body” of missing 21-year-old Sahela Sangrait was discovered earlier this month, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook over the weekend.
Sangrait, of Box Elder, was first reported missing in August 2024.
According to a missing person poster shared on Facebook, Sangrait was last known to be staying with a friend in Eagle Butte, about 160 miles northeast of the Air Force base, but then left and said she was going home to grab her stuff before departing on a planned trip to California.
It is not clear when Sangrait traveled home to Box Elder, or if she even made it to the town, which borders Ellsworth Air Force Base, where investigators believe she was killed.
A hiker found Sangrait’s body on March 4 about 50 miles from Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Pennington County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the area around 1 p.m. on Tuesday and her badly decomposed remains were sent off to confirm her identity.
On March 14, deputies arrested Chappell on federal charges for second-degree murder. He was booked into Pennington County Jail the same day.
The active-duty airman stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, is accused of killing Sangrait on the base, according to the sheriff’s office.
It was not immediately clear what led to his arrest or what the relationship between Chappelle and Sangrait was.
The U.S. attorney’s office for South Dakota will prosecute the case, the sheriff’s office said.
A GoFundMe was created to raise money to help pay for funeral expenses for Sangrait, who appeared to go by “Shy.”
“Shy is a beautiful, inclusive and mesmerizing spirit. She entered the world on March 26, 2003, to a slew of misfortune, only to attack it all head-on with a smile on her face,” the GoFundMe says.
“She is intelligent, witty, intuitive, and all around a good spirit to be close to. We are all so lucky to know her.”
