Summer House star West Wilson’s cousin has been arrested and charged with the murder of their grandmother, according to authorities.
Law enforcement officials in Carroll County, Missouri, responded to reports of a shooting at a home on West 14th Street in Carrollton, Missouri, on April 22 at approximately 10:25 p.m., according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. At the scene, a deputy with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office found a woman, 75-year-old Gayle R. Wilson, dead inside the home.
“A witness on scene identified a male suspect, who was also still on scene. The male suspect was taken into custody without incident,” a new release read.
Dakota Sweeney, 28, was later identified as the suspect and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Sweeney is being held in the Caldwell County Jail on a no-bond warrant.
People reported that Sweeney and a witness were still inside the home when authorities arrived. The female victim and the witness were later identified as “the grandparents of Sweeney,” according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s probable cause statement.
Sweeney’s grandfather reportedly witnessed him sitting on a “couch next to Victim #1 for approximately 30 minutes and without warning shot Victim #1 in the head,” per the statement. People reported that his grandfather also alleged that “earlier in the evening Sweeney and Victim #1 had been in a disagreement about Sweeney not assisting with chores around the residence.” Investigators later located a “holster” on Sweeney.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to West’s rep for comment.
West Wilson attends SiriusXM’s Front Row Series.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for SiriusXM
The news arrives amid a headline-making time for the Summer House star, who is currently at the center of a reality TV scandal. Throughout March, rumors that West had begun dating his co-star Amanda Batula flooded gossip sites, though the two continuously denied said claims.
The rumors were particularly disparaging because of Ciara Miller’s relationships with them both; Miller infamously dated West and their romance did not end on great terms; while Miller was also very close friends with Batula.
On March 31, West and Amanda released a joint statement confirming their relationship, effectively creating Bravo’s latest scandal. To add to the drama, Batula announced her separation from their Summer House co-star, her husband Kyle Cooke, in January, and the downfall of their marriage will be captured for the upcoming spinoff show In The City.
Sweeney was arrested on April 22, a day before the highly anticipated Summer House season 10 reunion filmed in New York City. The reunion will serve as the first time Miller will come face-to-face with West and Batula on camera following confirmation of their relationship.
On April 23, the scandal became even more layered when an audio recording from the set was leaked online. Bravo immediately launched an investigation into the leak, with the network finding on Sunday that a production staffer released the unauthorized recording. Additional leaked audios from filming have circulated online in the days since the investigation wrapped.
West joined the cast of Bravo’s Summer House in season eight, which began airing in 2024. During that installment (which was shot in 2023), West met the cast and began his romance with Miller, whom he dated through the end of the year. At the season eight reunion of the reality series, they announced they were no longer together, and Miller revealed that West said he could not commit to a serious relationship with her “for show-related reasons,” later admitting he wanted to be single amid the attention he received from women for appearing on the reality show.
West and Miller were on rocky terms throughout the ninth season of Summer House. Season 10 premiered in February and is currently airing, where the two got close and rehashed aspects of their former romance. As Batula has grappled with struggles in her marriage, Miller has remained an avid supporter of hers.
