BIG PINEY — Dakota Farley, a 23-year-old Big Piney man, is dead after he was shot through the right arm and chest with a compound bow and two broad tipped arrows inside his living room at 316 Mickelson Street on or about February 2. 

The two men charged in his murder, 19-year-old Rowan Henry Littauer, and 18-year-old Orion Donnie Owen Schlesinger, both of Big Piney, allegedly communicated with one another in the evening hours of February 1 to establish a plan to go to Farley’s home with the express purpose of ending his life. 

Schlesinger first went to Littauer’s residence, where Littauer had gathered a compound bow, broad-head tipped arrows and a bb gun. The friends then traveled on foot from Littauer’s residence to Farley’s, about 1.4 miles away. The pair entered Farley’s trailer where they found the man standing in his living room.

Armed with his compound bow, Littauer allegedly shot Farley through his right arm and into his chest, “resulting in his nearly instantaneous death,” according to charging documents filed in the Sublette County Circuit Court on February 7. 

At some point following Farley’s death, Littauer used his bb-style pistol to shoot eight bbs into the dead man’s scalp. 

When Sheriff’s deputies entered Farley’s home on February 5 after a call about a “possible deceased person,” they found the man lying face down with the right side of his face obscured on the carpet and dried wood under and around his head. Eight circular shaped wounds were observed in the left top side of Farley’s head. Bb’s appeared to be lodged in the wounds but because there was no blood around them, it is believed they occurred post-mortem. 

Following Farley’s murder, a warrant was issued at Littauer’s residence on February 5 resulted in the seizure of a black compound bow, black arrows, roadbed arrow tips and a “bb” gun pistol.

Littauer is charged with murder in the first degree, a felony punishable by death, life imprisonment without parole or life in prison. He is also charged with mutilation of a a dead human body, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both. 

Charging documents reveal that Littauer texted a friend to say he had shot Farley, “in the arm and in the head” with his compound bow, writing, “One less pedifile [sic] now.” The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office says it is without verified information that Farley was engaged in such conduct. In his texts, Littauer also told his friend that he was accompanied by Schlesinger,at the time of the murder. 

Schlesinger is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and felony theft. If convicted and sentenced to the maximum, Schlesinger could face the death penalty, life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment, plus an additional ten years for the felony theft charge. Schlesinger was found in possession of a purple and grey .22 caliber revolver owned by Farley. 

Littauer and Schlesinger will make their initial appearances in Sublette County Circuit Court this afternoon. 

A funeral for Farley is being planned for February 14. With permission from Farley’s father, Ray, area residents have set up a donation bucket at the Fast Stop in Big Piney. A note on the bucket reads, “… Dakota Farley … was a loved member in our community and part of the Fast Stop Family … We are putting up a fundraiser and raffle in his honor to try and help lay him to rest.”
Members of the public are encouraged to make donations via a GoFundMe set up in Dakota's name at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-dakota-farleys-family-in-their-grief.
To donate to the raffle, contact Erika or Preston at Fast Stop in Big Piney. Proceeds will help offset Farley’s funeral expenses.
Farley was a 2019 graduate of Pinedale High School.
Farley’s friends, family, coworkers and former teachers remembered him on social media as, “such a kind kid, with an amazing heart,” “such a sweet guy,” and a “good kid, full of life.”
Anyone with information about this case should contact Detective Sgt. Travis Lanning at 307-367-4378.
This is a developing story. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.