Mom accidentally kills daughter while trying to shoot dog attacking kittens, feds say

Five years ago, an Oklahoma daughter told her mom a stray dog was attacking kittens outside their home, according to federal authorities.

Amanda Myrene Fields Moffett responded by stepping onto her front porch with a handgun and shooting what she thought was the stray dog, authorities said. But she had accidentally shot her daughter, prosecutors said.

“When I discharged the firearm, it was dark outside and I knew (she) was outside of my home trying to save the kittens from the dog,” Moffett, 43, said in her signed plea agreement. “I did not verify that (she) was not in my line of fire when I discharged the handgun.”

Her daughter died after being shot on Oct. 5, 2018, according to an Oct. 2 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Moffett, a Cherokee citizen of Nowata, has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Indian country, records show.

Her defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Oct. 3.

Laramie Moffett was 16 when she was killed, KSNF reported.

“Laramie always had a smile on her face,” according to her online obituary. “She loved all animals mostly her horses, show calves. She was an accomplished rider in rodeo. She had no fear of animals, she rode bulls, and bareback broncs. Mostly she loved her barrel racing and roping.”

The teen had also qualified for the world barrel racing finals with the National Barrel Horse Association and was a member of 4-H and Future Farmers of America, according to the obituary.

Her mother faces up to eight years in federal prison, according to the release. Her sentencing date has not been scheduled as of Oct. 3.

Nowata is about 50 miles northeast of Tulsa.

This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 7:32 AM with the headline "Mom accidentally kills daughter while trying to shoot dog attacking kittens, feds say."