A heartbreaking detail has emerged in a Wyoming murder investigation after a young child reportedly told authorities that her mother was dead and that her father had been angry moments before the killing.

The tragic case began early Saturday morning in Riverton, Wyoming, when police responded to a disturbing call from a motel along Federal Boulevard. According to reports summarized from court documents and coverage by Cowboy State Daily, the call came after a little girl discovered her mother lying in the bathroom of their motel room, surrounded by blood.

When officers arrived at the Ol’ Wyoming Motel shortly after 7 a.m., they found 24-year-old Angelina Rose Bell on the bathroom floor. Investigators say she had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the face and showed no signs of life.

Nearby, officers discovered a spent 9mm shell casing in the toilet and evidence suggesting a firearm had recently been used inside the room.

But one of the most haunting parts of the investigation came from the words of Bell’s young daughter.

According to court documents, the child told officers and victim support staff that “Mommy’s in the bathroom” and later added that “Mommy has blood on her.” She also reportedly said that “Daddy was mad at Mommy” and that her father had gone for a walk.

Those statements quickly became part of the investigation as detectives worked to piece together what happened inside the motel room.

Police soon focused their attention on 25-year-old Sterling Louis Black Jr., who had been staying in the room with Bell and their child. Surveillance video from the motel reportedly showed Black leaving the room in the early morning hours, dressed in a dark hoodie and sweatpants.

Authorities say the footage also captured the family arriving together at the motel late the previous evening.

Inside the room, investigators found a firearm case for a SAR 9mm handgun, though the weapon itself was missing at the time. Detectives also documented signs of alcohol and possible drug use in the bathroom where Bell was found.

Medical investigators determined the fatal wound appeared to have been fired from several inches to a couple of feet away, based on gunpowder marks around the injury.

Later that day, the investigation took a major turn.

Around the afternoon hours, authorities were notified that Black was planning to surrender. Officers took him into custody after he turned himself in at the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

Police say Black’s father played a role in convincing him to come forward. According to investigators, the father located his son at an abandoned trailer on his property and urged him to “do what is right.” The father also turned over a handgun to law enforcement, which authorities say matched the firearm case found at the motel.

Black now faces a charge of second-degree murder, which carries a potential sentence ranging from 20 years to life in prison if convicted.

Meanwhile, investigators also spoke with members of Bell’s family, who reportedly told police there had been a history of abuse between the couple in the months leading up to the tragedy.

As the case moves through the court system, the community is left grappling with a devastating loss—and the chilling reality that a young child’s words helped reveal the events surrounding her mother’s final moments.