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LVN News Service photo This photo of Shelby Joanette was taken from a 1989 Truckee High School yearbook.
Shelby Hagedorn Joanette was too young to die. But, her father said, she made the most of the life she had.
"My daughter, in her 36 years on this earth, lived about 100 years," Curt Hagedorn said. "She lived every day to the fullest. Everybody loved her. She was an amazing lady, as outgoing as could be. She was more fun than a barrel of monkeys."
Joanette died Tuesday evening after being shot twice in the head early Saturday morning on Farm District Road in Fernley.
"My daughter, in her 36 years on this earth, lived about 100 years," Curt Hagedorn said. "She lived every day to the fullest. Everybody loved her. She was an amazing lady, as outgoing as could be. She was more fun than a barrel of monkeys."
Joanette died Tuesday evening after being shot twice in the head early Saturday morning on Farm District Road in Fernley.
Joanette's estranged husband, Michael Fixer Newcastle, 35, of Las Vegas, was arrested in Nye County on Saturday evening on suspicion of attempted murder. Following Joanette's death Tuesday, the charge will be changed to first degree murder, said Lt. Rob Hall of the Lyon County Sheriff's Department.
Joanette, the daughter of former Truckee residents Dona White and Curt Hagedorn, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, was a former member of the Junior Horsemen. She was named the Truckee Rodeo Queen in 1989, the same year she graduated from Truckee High.
"She was a real nice woman," Truckee resident Carol Pauli said. "She did a great job representing the rodeo. She was a nice, nice woman. This is just horrific."
At approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the Lyon County Sheriff's Office received reports of shots fired in Fernley, where Joanette had told others she was going to care for her horses. While en route, she called her father to say her truck had broken down.
Joanette, the daughter of former Truckee residents Dona White and Curt Hagedorn, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, was a former member of the Junior Horsemen. She was named the Truckee Rodeo Queen in 1989, the same year she graduated from Truckee High.
"She was a real nice woman," Truckee resident Carol Pauli said. "She did a great job representing the rodeo. She was a nice, nice woman. This is just horrific."
At approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the Lyon County Sheriff's Office received reports of shots fired in Fernley, where Joanette had told others she was going to care for her horses. While en route, she called her father to say her truck had broken down.
By the time he and sheriff's officers had arrived, she had been shot twice in the head. A neighbor reported seeing a man leaving the scene in a vehicle that matched the description of Newcastle's car. He was picked up almost 12 hours later in Beatty.
Authorities recovered an unloaded 9 mm handgun from the vehicle's trunk, according to arresting officers' reports. Hall said a 9 mm shell casing was found at the scene of the shooting.
Joanette was transported from Fernley by CareFlight to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where she was listed in critical condition.
Hagedorn said when he and his wife visited Shelby on Tuesday night at Renown and informed her that Newcastle had been apprehended by police, Shelby seemed to relax and let go. She died within minutes, he said.
Authorities recovered an unloaded 9 mm handgun from the vehicle's trunk, according to arresting officers' reports. Hall said a 9 mm shell casing was found at the scene of the shooting.
Joanette was transported from Fernley by CareFlight to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where she was listed in critical condition.
Hagedorn said when he and his wife visited Shelby on Tuesday night at Renown and informed her that Newcastle had been apprehended by police, Shelby seemed to relax and let go. She died within minutes, he said.
"We were so blessed by her presence on this Earth," he said. "And we have been so blessed today by an incredible outpouring of love. She was a peach. She was the apple of our eye."
The suspect also goes by the name Michael Christopher Young, an alias Newcastle has used for years, said Lt. Hall. Young is the name under which Joanette knew her husband and married him, he said, adding that she was unaware her husband maintained two identities. Hall was unable to disclose whether Newcastle/Young has any prior convictions or criminal history.
Joanette had recently moved from Las Vegas, where she had lived with Newcastle/Young. The two were going through a bitter divorce, according to Hall.
Services are currently being arranged by the family, Joanette's father said.
The suspect also goes by the name Michael Christopher Young, an alias Newcastle has used for years, said Lt. Hall. Young is the name under which Joanette knew her husband and married him, he said, adding that she was unaware her husband maintained two identities. Hall was unable to disclose whether Newcastle/Young has any prior convictions or criminal history.
Joanette had recently moved from Las Vegas, where she had lived with Newcastle/Young. The two were going through a bitter divorce, according to Hall.
Services are currently being arranged by the family, Joanette's father said.


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