Identity of shooting victim released

Published 4:31 pm Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office has released the identity of the man killed last week at Myre-Big Island State Park.

Spencer Daniel Brown, 23, of rural Freeborn County, died Aug. 23 after he was reportedly shot twice in the head.

Spencer Brown

Spencer Brown

Authorities have stated Brown was found dead in a locked 2001 Audi station wagon the evening of Aug. 23 in a parking lot near the Big Island pavilion after dispatchers received a 911 call from David Michael Easter, 26, of Brownsdale.

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Easter reportedly told dispatchers he had shot Brown in self-defense and claimed Brown approached him with what appeared to be a bat.

Easter’s wife and infant daughter were also reportedly at the pavilion at the time of the shooting but were not injured.

Authorities stated last week evidence does not show the shooting was in self-defense.

Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag said Wednesday both men had recent ties to the Omaha, Nebraska, area, but at this point in the investigation there does not appear to be a prior connection between them.

Easter faces one count of second-degree murder in the death.

Look to the Tribune for more information as it becomes available.