“Summer House” reality star West Wilson’s cousin has been arrested for allegedly murdering their step-grandmother, authorities in Missouri said.
Dakota Sweeney, 28, has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Gayle R. Wilson, 75, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement. He has been held without bond since his arrest on April 22.
Sweeney was arrested the night before West Wilson, 31, filmed the tenth season reunion special of the Bravo reality show “Summer House” on April 23. Wilson’s father, Bruce, and Sweeney’s mother, Kelly, are Gayle Wilson’s stepchildren, according to TMZ.
Authorities in Carroll County, Missouri, responded to a call at 10:25 p.m. on April 22 at a home in the county seat of Carrollton. Upon arriving, a Carroll County Sheriff’s Office deputy “located a female deceased in the residence,” the highway patrol said. The person who had called in the incident identified Sweeney, who was still there, as her killer.
The witness, who police later identified as Wilson’s husband of 50 years and Sweeney’s grandfather, told police that his grandson had sat next to Wilson for about 30 minutes, then “without warning shot [Wilson] in the head,” according to a probable cause affidavit. The two had been arguing just a few hours earlier over Sweeney’s reluctance to do chores around the house, his grandfather told police.
Sweeney was taken into custody “without incident,” police said, noting that the deputy had “located a holster on Sweeney’s person.” He is scheduled for a bond hearing on May 6, People reported.