A collage of photos of Acey Morrison at a younger age. Morrison was killed on Aug. 21, 2022 by a man who claimed self defense. (Photos courtesy of Cheryse Hawkins, illustration by Josh Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
A Pennington County grand jury has charged a Rapid City man with manslaughter for the August 2022 death of a transgender Native American woman.
The Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that a grand jury issued the indictment last week.
The indictment charges 53-year-old Gregory Landers not only with first-degree manslaughter, but also with unauthorized ingestion of a controlled drug or substance, and possession of a firearm by a person with a prior drug conviction.
Gregory Landers. (Courtesy of Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office)
A press release from the state’s attorney’s office said Landers was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday in Decatur, Indiana.
Acey Morrison, 30, was fatally shot at Landers’ residence on Country Road in Rapid City on Aug. 21, 2022.
The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office spearheaded the investigation into the death, with support from the Rapid City Police Department. State’s Attorney Lara Roetzel said in a news release that she will represent the prosecution on the state’s behalf.
There’s never been a question as to who killed Morrison. Landers has told investigators he was defending himself. He connected with Morrison on a dating app, and they met on a Saturday night at his north Rapid City home. He shot her the following morning.
Morrison’s mother, Edelyn Catches, told South Dakota Searchlight on Wednesday that she’d all but given up hope for charges beyond weapons and drugs. In meetings with law enforcement and prosecutors, she was told it would be difficult to make a case for homicide charges because of Landers’ self-defense claims and the lack of witnesses.
“They really made me feel like it wasn’t going to go anywhere,” Catches said. “It hasn’t been easy. I’ve had a lot of bad days.”
On Wednesday morning, she was at work and missed a call from an investigator. A half hour later, he called back and Catches was there to pick up and hear the news.
“I was really happy. I didn’t want to get my hopes up because it’s been so long,” she said. “I was so relieved.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated since its original publication with the addition of new comments from Edelyn Catches.
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