Lethbridge man charged with murdering wife

By Lethbridge Herald on December 29, 2022.

Herald photo by Al Beeber A police vehicle is parked in front of a home on 13th Ave. N. where LPS say a murder occurred this week.

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man is facing charges after the second homicide in the city this year.

David Albert Dragland, 59, is charged with one count of first degree murder in the death of his 59-year-old wife Shelley Tuesday.

Dragland has been remanded in custody and has a scheduled court appearance on Jan. 3.

Police responded to a report of a disturbance just after 11 p.m. at a home on 13 Ave. N. Police say a man exited the home and was arrested without incident. Inside, police found a woman critically injured with multiple stab wounds. They began life-saving measures until EMS took over but Shelley Dragland was declared dead at the scene.

Police say the couple had been seated together when the husband took a knife from the kitchen and began stabbing his wife.

Staff Sgt. in charge of the Lethbridge Police Service criminal investigation section, Pete Christos, said Thursday at LPS headquarters that the public is not at risk and the motivation for the attack is still under investigation.

Christos said if the public hear disturbances on the street or in homes, they are asked to immediately notify LPS so officers can respond.

“It’s never easy when we get these homicides that happen in our city. This is the second for 2022 and it’s unfortunate that these things do happen,” he added.

Lethbridge’s only other homicide in 2022 occurred in May when 44-year-old Amber Bahadur Khadka died when he was struck during an argument and sustained life-threatening head injuries before dying in Calgary two days later. Sheldon Nicholas LePage, 45, of Lethbridge was charged with manslaughter in that case.

Comments are closed.