Father's Killer Sent Daughters Letter Saying He Saved Funeral Costs by Disposing of Body: Court

The daughters of Patrick Shelton, 47, who is believed to have been murdered back in May, were in the courtroom on Monday for the sentencing of Alan Douglas Bruce, 70.

The defendant tried to reverse his original guilty plea in court during the sentencing hearing, but this was denied. He then tried to claim that he'd shot Shelton, who he described as a friend, in self-defense. The court, though, reminded Bruce that evidence proved he'd bought a gun and night vision goggles beforehand, suggesting intent.

When he wasn't attempting to interrupt the proceedings, per the outlet, he heard two witness impact statements from the victim's daughters. One of those daughters revealed that she had reportedly received disturbing letters from Bruce that had been sent to the family after their father's death.

She said that in at least one of those letters, he expressed that he'd actually done the family a favor by dismembering Bruce's body and disposing of it because they then would not have to pay for funeral expenses. The victim's body has never been found.

Bruce was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 years fixed, per a courtroom report from Local News 8. He also waived all appeals, according to the Post Register.

On October 22, 2025, the defendant entered an Alford plea, which is when a suspect admits that there is sufficient evidence to secure a guilty verdict but does not formally confess to committing the crime. Sentencing then proceeded as if it were a guilty plea.

The Custer County Sheriff's Office reported finding DNA and skull fragments in Shelton's truck in May that were a match for Shelton, but despite a lengthy search by Custer County Search and Rescue, they've been unsuccessful in recovering anything else.

Bruce was arrested in May and charged with second-degree murder and destruction of evidence in relation to Shelton's disappearance. Court documents at the time reported that he admitted to investigators dismembering and burning Shelton's body and scattering the remains in the Salmon River.

The investigation into the disappearance of Bruce began on May 10, according to a statement from the CCSO, after Custer was overdue to return from a wood cutting trip. When deputies searched where he was expected to have been, they reported finding his truck and his dog inside of it, but no sign of Custer himself.

There was, however, "blood spatter and possible brain tissue" in the vehicle, according to the arrest affidavit reviewed by KTVB: "The blood spatter appeared to be throughout the front of the interior. brain matter was on the rearview mirror." Additionally, they recovered some of his hair from the windowsill.

As search and rescue crews began combing the area, deputies were also investigating Custer's phone records, which showed his last location in the vicinity of Bruce's residence between midnight and 9 a.m. on May 8. This matched a piece of mail that had been found next to Shelton's truck addressed to Bruce, per the affidavit.

With these results, a search warrant was obtained and executed at Bruce's home, and the suspect was interviewed. Evidence was recovered "indicating that a person sustained injuries incompatible with life," according to the report. They reported finding "small flecks of human flesh" and red human hair, a match for Shelton's, next to Bruce's camper, as well as bone fragments and broken glass behind a pickup truck on the property.

Police dogs brought to the property indicted several different areas where there were or had been human remains. A subsequent interview with Bruce after this discovery elicited an admission that he had killed Shelton and disposed of his remains, per the report. He allegedly told investigators he was going to prison for a "long time," per the report.

Bruce's version of events in this second interview, as detailed in the affidavit, was that he and Shelton had been involved in a traffic accident. He said that he left the area afterward and returned an AR rifle and watched Shelton for "hours" with night vision binoculars, using the "cover of darkness" to conceal his presence.

He allegedly said that after some time, he approached Shelton with his rifle and asked him, "Do you want some of this?" He claimed that Shelton was also armed at this time and that he responded by saying, "You better pull the trigger mother f--ker" and then pointed his own gun at Bruce.

"When that .45 came up it was me or him," detectives wrote, quoting Bruce. And so, he told them that he shot Shelton dead. He even showed them a picture of Shelton's body inside his truck.

Afterward, Bruce said he proceeded to use a chainsaw to dismember Bruce's body and burned the remains in a barrel. He then loaded the barrel into his truck and drove it to a bridge over the Salmon River and threw it in. He also said that he disposed of both guns, per the affidavit.

He then reportedly returned home and cleaned up the scene with bleach and a Shop-Vac before he finally towed Shelton's truck to another area. When investigators asked why he didn't just call the cops, Bruce told them, per the report, that you "shoot, shovel, and shut up."

It is not completely clear from the affidavit why Shelton might have been on Bruce's property in the first place that night when it was expected he was out cutting wood, but Bruce did indicate to investigators that the two were friends.