Miranda Colleen Fenner (December 26, 1979 – November 15, 1998) was an American youth who was murdered while working at a video store in Laurel, Montana. The murder case received wide media attention and is one of the highest-profile murder cases in

Yellowstone County Yellowstone County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 164,731. Its county seat is Billings. Yellowstone County is named for the Yellowstone River which roughly bisects the county ...

history. Fenner's murder was featured on the Discovery Channel's ''

Sensing Murder ''Sensing Murder'' is a television show in which three psychics are asked to act as psychic detectives to help provide evidence that might be useful in solving famous unsolved murder cases by communicating with the deceased victims. The program ...

'' and the ''

Montel Williams Show ''The Montel Williams Show'' (also known as ''Montel'') is an American syndicated tabloid talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from 1991 to 2008. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of ''The Montel Williams Sh ...

''. Zachary David O'Neill confessed to killing her in March of 2017, a fact first publicized in July 2019 when he pled guilty to her murder.

Murder

On November 15, 1998, 18-year-old Miranda Fenner was working at The Movie Store, a locally owned video rental store in Laurel, Montana. At around 8:15 p.m., a passing motorist noticed a woman attempting to crawl out the doorstep of the video store. The motorist stopped and called 911. The woman, discovered to be Fenner, had been stabbed multiple times in the head and neck, and her throat had also been slashed. Fenner was transported via Life Flight to St. Vincent Healthcare hospital in nearby

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

, where she died of her injuries within two hours.

Investigation

Over 700 people were interviewed in relation to Fenner's murder, but no suspects had been named. Police could not find a motive nor suspect in the case, though it was noted that a small amount of cash had been taken from the video store's register; because of this, robbery could not be entirely ruled out as a motive. In 2000, a man who was killed in a police

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

Glendive, Montana Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States, and home to Dawson Community College. Glendive was established by the Northern Pacific Railway when they built the transcontinental railroad across the northe ...

, had allegedly made statements prior to his death that he had been involved in Fenner's murder; however, Glendive police reported that the statements were rumors and were not confirmed. In 2012, Fenner's murder was given to the

Billings Police Department The Billings Police Department is a police department in Billings, Montana, the main law enforcement service in Billings, Montana. It is the largest city police force in Montana with 162 sworn officers/80 civilian employees covering and a popula ...

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

unit. Fenner's mother, Sherry Fenner, would later advocate for an instatement of

Marsy's Law Marsy's Law, the California Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008, enacted by voters as Proposition 9 through the initiative process in the November 2008 general election, is a controversial amendment to the state's constitution and certain penal ...

in the state of Montana in 2015.

Arrest

In March 2017, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Zachary David O’Neill in connection with a case involving the rape, slashing, and attempted murder of a newspaper carrier in Billings which occurred in September 1998. During this questioning with law enforcement, O'Neill admitted to being responsible for the newspaper carrier's attack, and subsequently confessed to the murder of Fenner. O'Neill pled guilty to her murder on July 22, 2019. According to O'Neill, he murdered Fenner during an attempt to rob the video store. He later disposed of the murder weapon—a hunting knife—in

Jordan, Montana Jordan is a town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States. The population was 356 at the 2020 census. It is Garfield County's only incorporated community. History Jordan was settled in 1896. The founder, Arthur Jordan, ...

, during a trip with his father.

Media depictions

Fenner's murder garnered national attention. It was the subject of a ''

'' episode on the Discovery Channel in 2007. In 2006, the case had been featured on the ''

'', in which psychic

Sylvia Browne Sylvia Celeste Browne (''née'' Shoemaker; October 19, 1936 – November 20, 2013) was an American author who claimed to be a medium with psychic abilities. She appeared regularly on television and radio, including on '' The Montel Willia ...

claimed two men were responsible for the murder, aged 19 and 24.

References

External links

Documentary short
on Fenner's murder, produced by the Yellowstone County Police Department {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenner, Miranda 1998 in Montana 1998 murders in the United States Crime in Montana November 1998 events in the United States History of women in Montana