Rocky Mountain College holding vigil for murdered student
Dec 12, 2025
Rocky Mountain College is holding a vigil in honor of a student slain this week at her parents' home near Absarokee.The vigil in honor of Nila Dawson will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 in Fraley Lounge on the Rocky campu
s. A campus memorial service is planned for the beginning of the spring semester.Rocky Mountain officials said on social media that counseling is available through the college's Student Life Division and Counseling Services.Watch previous Q2 coverage: Absarokee community mourning loss of mother daughter after tragic deathsDawson, 20, was found shot to death Monday morning with her mother, Justine Dawson. Her father, Greg Dawson, was also shot and injured, along with her friend, Matthew Osgood.Her estranged boyfriend, Ty Turney, was charged with two counts of deliberate homicide and two counts of attempted deliberate homicide. He pleaded not guilty.Related: Mother and daughter killed in Stillwater County shootingRelated: Man accused of killing 2, wounding 2 others near Absarokee pleads not guilty Prosecutors stated in charging documents that Turney drove from Texas to Montana in an attempt to reconcile with Nila Dawson, a student at Rocky Mountain College. Instead, prosecutors allege, he raped Nila Dawson at her campus apartment and tracked her to her parents' home, where he shot and killed both mother and daughter.Nila Dawson was a junior at Rocky majoring in biology and psychology and a graduate of Absarokee High School. She hoped to become a physician's assistant, according to the college.
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