A Kalispell teenager accused of shooting his sister in the head on Halloween last year is being tried as an adult in Flathead County District Court.  

Kiefer Joshua Votaw, 15, is charged with attempted deliberate homicide, a felony, following an Oct. 31, 2024 shooting that left Votaw’s teenage sister hospitalized. The gunfire occurred on the 400 block of South Meridian Road, according to authorities.   

Votaw’s mother and 18-year-old brother had left the home that day to run a brief errand when Votaw retrieved a gun from the family safe, according to court documents.  

Votaw allegedly tested the gun’s operations, loaded it and gathered extra ammunition before shooting his 16-year-old sister once in the back of the head, court documents said. 

The mother and older son returned to their home to see the front door open. Inside, the mother found her daughter lying on the living room floor and bleeding from her head, according to court documents.  

The mother called emergency services about 3:23 p.m., originally stating that her daughter had hit her head and was bleeding.  

Votaw, meanwhile, allegedly called his older brother and stated, “I just shot [the victim], I’m at the police station. [Expletive] off.” 

While officers were responding to the South Meridian Road home, Votaw arrived in the Police Department lobby, court documents said. He admitted to shooting his sister and said he still had the gun on him, according to court documents.  

Officers seized a 9 mm handgun from Votaw, and it was determined that the girl’s wounds were from a gunshot, court documents said. She was rushed to the hospital for surgery that involved removing portions of her skull and required months of rehabilitation, according to court documents.  

District Court Judge Paul Sullivan denied Votaw’s request to be tried in youth court in October of this year.  

“The evidence overwhelming establishes that this was not an impulsive act born of transient immaturity, but rather a premeditated attempt to kill his sister,” Sullivan wrote in his order.  

Votaw’s sister reported that prior to the shooting he watched videos of people being killed to desensitize himself, court documents alleged. Votaw also allegedly deleted data off his phone an hour before the shooting.  

“The experts all agreed that [Votaw] is a troubled young man in need of serious psychological help. The compressed time frame of youth court does not provide enough time to address the concerns,” Sullivan wrote.  

Arraigned Oct. 2, 2025, Votaw pleaded not guilty to the felony charge. An omnibus hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 4 with a pretrial conference to follow on Feb. 25. 

Votaw’s last known address is the Missoula County Juvenile Detention Center, according to court documents.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].