Montana Casino Customer Who Beheaded Fellow Patron Was Alleged Zombie Fantasist Who ‘Wanted to Eat Brains’

Posted on: July 8, 2019, 11:38h. 

Last updated on: July 8, 2019, 12:59h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A man accused of decapitating a winning customer at Montana Lil’s Casino in Billings, Mont., was allegedly “obsessed with zombies” and discussed eating the victim’s brain, according to new charges filed in the case.

Montana Beheading
Donald Ray Cherry was part of a plot to rob a fellow regular at a Montana casino of his winnings, but the plot descended brutal murder when it was discovered the victim only had $6 in loose change. (Image: Billings Gazette)

Donald Ray Cherry, 32, and associate Jeffrey Glen Haverty, 35, have been charged with deliberate homicide in the death of Myron Wesley Knight, 41, on October 26, 2017.

Cherry and Haverty allegedly killed Knight after trying to steal his $120 casino winnings, severing his head — probably while he was still alive, according to medical examiners — with Haverty’s hatchet.

Now Haverty, who pleaded guilty last month, has made the horrifying claims about Cherry’s cannibal fantasies — claims backed up by Cherry’s girlfriend – as part of his plea deal to testify against his friend, according to new charges against Cherry in the case.

Killed for $6

Knight apparently smelled a rat when he left the casino with the two men, whom he knew. He gave his winnings to a member of casino staff to safeguard, telling the employee that if he didn’t return to claim it, Cherry and Haverty would be responsible.

But the precaution may have sealed his fate.

Cherry’s girlfriend — referred to in charges only as “ZW” — said she believes the pair became angry when they discovered Knight only had $6 in loose change on him, which is when Haverty attacked him, at a transient camp not far from the casino.

She claims she returned from a trip to a nearby gas station to see Knight collapsed with blood around his neck. Haverty initially tried to behead the man, but Cherry took over when the job became too difficult, she said.

Knight’s torso was found by a walker on a dirt trail. His head was 30 feet away, wrapped in a towel under a pile of leaves.

After the alleged killing, all three went to the Magic Diamond Casino to carry on gambling, ZW said.

New Charges Filed Against Cherry

As of this week, Cherry faces an additional charge of intimidating a witness after he was observed telling ZW that she had been “mistaken” about her testimony during a prison visit and that he didn’t want her to feel guilty about him receiving a long sentence because of it.

“I know you don’t remember right,” he told her, before winking, according to the charges.

The trials of the two are set to commence soon. The charges against Cherry carry a possible 110 years. Prosecutors and defense lawyers are seeking 50 years for Haverty.