Man sentenced for killing woman he didn’t know at Portland drum circle

PORTLAND, Ore. (TCN) — A 28-year-old man was sentenced for fatally shooting a stranger at a drum circle nearly three years ago.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said a judge sentenced Wyatt Belcher on June 9 to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. A jury previously convicted him of second-degree murder with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the death of Ash Smith.

On the night of May 8, 2022, Portland Police received a report of a woman shot. Witnesses reportedly told authorities that as people were packing up at the end of a drum circle, they “heard a loud bang.”

According to prosecutors, one witness “thought it was a fireworks show” but noticed Smith fall to the ground. Belcher allegedly walked away and then came back with a gun in his hand. A witness reportedly said Belcher “asked if the woman was dead” and “then asked the witness if he wanted to be shot as well” before the defendant walked away.

Family members told KOIN-TV that Smith was a mother who was struggling with homelessness when she was killed. Belcher reportedly did not know Smith.

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