More details released on triple homicide in Yankton

By The Associated Press | Monday, September 29, 2008

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YANKTON -- A 58-year-old man was arrested Sunday and is being accused of shooting and killing three people in an apartment building here.

Ernest B. Tupper "was in his apartment at the time officers arrived at the scene" about 2:20 p.m., said police Chief Duane Heeney.

"(A) caller advised they heard several shots fired," he said.

A law enforcement dispatcher talked Tupper out of his apartment and officers took him into custody without incident, the police chief said.

Heeney said Tupper will face murder charges in the deaths of Robert Riibe, 21, Brian Vanwagner, 29, and Chassidy Bamsey, 21.

Bamsey and Vanwagner had planned to be married Monday.

The slayings took place in a washroom entrance and an adjoining hallway, Heeney said.

No motive for the slayings has been established, Heeney said.

Bamsey's stepfather, William Bamsey, lives in the complex. He said Tupper had argued in the past with Riibe about the loud music Riibe played in his apartment.

Monica Foxhoven, who lives with William Bamsey, said she heard shooting, looked outside her apartment and saw Tupper armed with a pistol.

"I heard he had a mental illness," she said of Tupper.

Heeney said a weapon was recovered but would not disclose any details about it. He said he was not sure whether there was a relationship between Tupper and the three people.

Tupper was being held in Yankton County Jail.

A bystander near the apartment building said she knew all three victims and had dated Vanwagner in the past.

"They were all really nice people," said Kayla Cleghorn, 18, of Yankton. "They kept to themselves. They didn't try to start anything with anyone. If you needed anything, they'd help you."

Cleghorn said she learned of the deaths from friends about an hour after the shooting and was told the three victims were each shot three times.

The dispute between Tupper and Riibe may have been caused by Riibe's tendency to play loud music, Cleghorn said. She said apartment residents had asked Riibe to turn down his music in the past, but Cleghorn was unsure if Tupper was one of those people.

Tupper had been arrested previously for a minor drug possession charge, Heeney said.

Apartment complex residents were bused away as the investigation got under way, he said.

"We did (evacuate) as a precautionary measure so we could go through the building and look for any evidence we needed," the police chief said.

Heeney said the case is being handled by the Yankton County state's attorney, the Yankton Police Department, the state Division of Criminal Investigation and the Highway Patrol.