Nearly seven weeks after 18-year-old Taegan Becker of Cheyenne found her new SUV spray-painted and covered with dog feces, used motor oil, garbage, gravel and shattered glass outside a Casper apartment complex, her family says they're still waiting for answers — and for someone to be arrested.
"It's frustrating," Becker's father, Jon, told Cowboy State Daily. "I lose sleep over it every day."
Casper Police opened a case after the Sept. 5-6 incident and assigned it to Officer Hunter Ihrig.
Jon Becker said police told the family a warrant would be sought for property destruction and trespassing, but as of Thursday no one has been arrested or charged.
Cowboy State Daily reached out directly to Ihrig for the status of the investigation and contacted Casper Police spokeswoman Rebekah Ladd, submitting a public-records request for the report. The Natrona County District Attorney's Office was also contacted to determine whether police had referred the case for prosecution and whether it remains under review.
Both parties said they are looking into the case, but neither provided additional information before publication.
Covered In Filth
Photos show the blue-green SUV streaked with curled lines of white spray paint from its windows down its doors and body, and trash piled on the hood of the vehicle.
Becker said someone emptied bags from dog-waste receptacles around the apartment complex onto the vehicle, along with used the used motor oil and filters. A construction sandbag was ripped open, he said, scattering gravel and rocks across the vehicle.
Becker said he also found pieces of metal positioned beneath the tires.
"If I didn't find them, she'd have all flat tires," Becker said.
"It was smelly and dirty," he said.
They cleaned it up the best they could after photographing the scene so his daughter, who hadn't even made her first payment on the SUV, could drive home.
'Toxic' Relationship
Becker said the destruction came at the end of what he described as an increasingly "toxic" relationship between his daughter and another young adult.
The two had been dating for about a year, he said. The young man spent time with the family and was welcomed into their home, Becker said.
"This guy's been in my house," Becker said. "He's hung out with my daughter for a long time."
On the night of Sept. 5, his daughter was at Fox Hill Apartments in Casper when the situation escalated to the point that police were called, Becker said.
He said officers came to the apartment and the young man was removed.
"She called up later, scared, and just said, 'You know, I'm scared for my life,'" Becker recalled.
Becker was driving back from Denver toward Cheyenne at the time.
He turned toward Casper instead.
Taegen Becker spoke with Cowboy State Daily and said she “completely broke down” when she saw the damage to the SUV. She said she had already been considering ending the relationship when the vandalism occurred and described her ex as having a “short temper.”
Hiding In The Bushes
Becker and another of his daughters arrived in Casper around 2 a.m.
He said he wasn't driving there looking for a fight.
"My intention was to give him a ride home," Becker said of his daughter’s boyfriend.
Instead, Becker said, he found the young man hiding in bushes near the apartment complex.
Becker said he confronted him after discovering what had been done to his daughter's SUV.
The response, Becker alleges, was: "She got what she deserved."
Cowboy State Daily is not identifying the accused man because he has not been arrested or charged with a crime. The allegation that he vandalized the vehicle is Becker's, and police had not responded to Cowboy State Daily's questions about whether investigators have identified a suspect.
Still Cleaning
Almost seven weeks later, Becker said his daughter is still finding reminders of that night.
An invoice Becker provided to Cowboy State Daily from Hometown 307 Detailing lists $1,150 in vandalism-related restoration work.
Of that, $1,000 was for removal of spray paint and vandalism-related contamination and a two-step paint correction. Another $150 was listed for a second trip because spray paint remained in cracks and crevices.
Becker said the family also spent $175 on a ceramic paint repair kit, tipped the detailer $100 and spent additional money on cleaning products and car washes.
More difficult to calculate is the hours his daughter has spent trying to make her vehicle look new again.
"She's traumatized," Becker said. "She almost doesn't want the car anymore."
He said she continues going over it, searching for marks.
"She's out there, you know, an hour or two before she goes to work every day, just wiping it down and cleaning it," Becker said.
"It's sad for me to watch her do that," he added, "because it wasn't her fault."
Taegen Becker said she remains “angry and paranoid” that something else could happen.
“He could still be around waiting for the chance to do something else,” she said. “There’s still that thought in the back of my mind.”
Where The Case Stands
Wyoming law defines property destruction and defacement as knowingly defacing, injuring or destroying another person's property without the owner's consent. The cost of restoring the damaged property is one factor that determines the severity of the offenses — but evidence that a vehicle was vandalized and evidence establishing who vandalized it are two separate questions.
Becker said he believes surveillance cameras at the apartment complex could help.
"I've called Casper Police probably about five times," he said. "Tried to talk to the officer that assigned the case number. Didn't return my calls."
He said he isn't asking police to skip the investigative process. He wants to understand what that process is and where his daughter's case stands.
"If a police officer says this is what's going to happen, they don't give out false statements," Becker said. "They should explain the process — that this is how it is, this is how long it's going to take."
What he wants, he said, is "justice for my daughter."
Becker can put a price on much of what happened to the SUV. He can't put one on what the experience has done to his daughter.
"I am super protective," he said. "I mean, it's my baby girl. You know, from baby to now, and no matter how old she is, I'll always be there for them."
Losing Sleep
He said he has deliberately stayed away from the person he suspects and tried to let police handle the case.
"I'm better than that, and my daughter's better than that," he said.
What keeps him awake isn't the $1,150 detailing bill or the white paint still hiding in the SUV's crevices, he said.
It's the possibility that whoever vandalized the vehicle isn't finished.
"The worst outcome is that he does something ... in retaliation for breaking up with — you know, my daughter breaking up with him," Becker said.
"So I fear for my daughter's life."
For now, all Becker can do is wait.
"It's hard as a father to maintain that patience of the trust and faith in the law and the court system," he said.
"I lose sleep over it every single night."
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
