GREAT FALLS – The man charged in the shooting death of Jadie Butterfly changed his plea in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday.
The Montana Department of Justice alleges that Treyson Sharp fired a gun while pointing it at Butterfly, killing her, in December 2024.
From court documents:
On the night of December 28, 2024, the defendant, Treyson Lee Sharp, invited his girlfriend 19-year-old Jane Doe to his family home for dinner. After dinner, they retired to his bedroom where Sharp showed Doe his Christmas presents, including a pair of .357 revolvers. While playing with the firearms, the defendant pointed the revolver at Doe and discharged the firearm, striking Doe in the neck.
Sharp immediately yelled for help. Family members who were in the home responded. One called 911 and one rendered medical aid to Doe. Sharp was so hysterical he had to be removed from the room and was heard on the 911 call screaming for help. Doe died at the scene. Law enforcement responded to the home. In interviews with witnesses, they reported hearing Sharp and Doe laughing in the room immediately before hearing a single shot and then Sharp yelling for help.
Law enforcement recovered four firearms at the scene: two .357 revolvers, a .44 revolver, and a modified shotgun. Law enforcement located a bullet hole in Sharp’s bedroom wall. Law enforcement recovered a spent projectile outside the house and found a brass casing in the wall. The casing was forensically matched to one of the recovered .357 revolvers. The cylinder of the fired revolver had six chambers: five were empty and one contained a spent casing.
In multiple interviews, Sharp told law enforcement that he and Doe were playing with the .357 revolvers, which he believed to be empty, when one went off. At first Sharp said that he had been taking it from Doe when it discharged but eventually reported to law enforcement that they were playing, “western” and he was across the room when it happened.
Sharp stated, “I didn’t know it was loaded – none of my guns are ever loaded when I bring them in. I don’t know what happened or how it got in there, but we were dueling, and I did it…I’ve done it before with friends… it went off, she went down…I didn’t know it was in there.” He said that he did not remember if his finger hit the trigger, but he did remember pulling the hammer back.
Sharp, 21, was arraigned in August on charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession of an unlawful firearm.
Prosecutors dropped the gun charge as part of a plea deal, meaning Sharp faced only the involuntary manslaughter charge.
During his court appearance on Tuesday, Sharp pleaded guilty to the charge.
Watch previous coverage: Change of plea hearing set for man accused in shooting death of Jadie Butterfly
Sentencing is set for February 11, 2026, at 10 a.m.
Sharp faces a maximum of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3½ years of supervised release as part of the plea agreement.
