Rapid City area horse brutally killed; information sought

Just outside of Rapid City, South Dakota, a horse was apparently killed by what appears to be an intruder. On October 9, 2025, Lacy Jenson-Wolff’s husband Jake Wolff discovered her horse dead, bloody and still warm at about 8:40 am.

Jake was working in the horse shed when he noticed Lacy’s mare Cheyenne laying on her side. She appeared to be dead.

“He called me and I went down right away. We looked her over. She didn’t have any wounds or markings on her except on her behind area, which was dripping with blood,” said Lacy.

Lacy reports that she saw many pools of blood in what appear to be a path taken by her mare after the injury. They found a shovel nearby with a recently splintered handle. The handle is not missing, but had been broken into a sharp point and was covered in blood. The shovel may or may not have originated on the property.

The sheriff’s office, investigators and state veterinarian’s office investigated. Lacy said it appears likely that the mare was sedated and the broken shovel handle used to assault her rectally and vaginally.

There was no sign of a struggle.

Blood samples were taken to test for drugs in the horse’s system.

Lacy said she and her husband live near Pactola Lake, off highway 385, west of Rapid City. Their home and 40 acres of land are not clearly visible from the highway.

Their property has been in her husband’s family for at least 50 years. The couple lived there several years ago, then moved into town. In June of this year, they moved back to the rural area. Her husband’s brother and family also live in the area, but neither home can be seen from the highway. Their land is bordered by US Forest Service land. The USFS land is grazed during the summer season, but the cattle had been taken off before this incident took place.

Lacy doesn’t believe the perpetrator entered their property on the road. Both families living on the road have dogs that normally bark at unexpected vehicles.

There isn’t clear evidence of the fence being tampered with or someone entering their property on foot either on the road or through the forest.

The Wolffs are offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the conviction of the perpetrator. Contact the Pennington County Sheriff’s investigative division at 605-394-6115 with pertinent information.