All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Riverton, WY) – 31-year-old Riverton man John Goodman has been arrested following the execution of a murder in the first degree warrant, which stemmed from an incident that occurred in March of 2023, according to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office call log issued today, November 4.
Court documents state the warrant was issued on July 2, 2025, for events that transpired on March 20, 2023.
The affidavit on file (also filed on July 2, 2025) states that on March 20, 2023, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent was informed of human remains found by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on Rendezvous Road, after they had received a tip from two subjects.
The subjects shared with FBI agents that a man named ‘John John’ told them he had “killed a male,” and that he “guided and showed them the remains.”
Upon investigating the scene where the two subjects had witnessed the remains, agents found the male’s body wrapped in bedding, partially covered in snow. His feet and hands were “bound with a cord,” and agents also noted the male had “obvious injuries to his head and neck.”
The affidavit states that the victim was later identified as Gustave Yellowhair (YOB: 1985), and “John John” was identified as John William Goodman.
Agents soon discovered two “Super 8” motel key cards at the scene, one wrapped in the bedding (which was “consistent with hotel-style bedding”), and the other just a few feet from the remains.
The Fremont County Coroner’s Office soon conducted the autopsy, the affidavit continues, at which point the manner of death was determined to be “homicide.” The cause was concluded to be “Transection of the carotid artery and jugular vein and partial transection of the larynx due to sharp force injury of the neck.”
Evidence collected during the autopsy included the two USB cords that were used to bind the victim’s hands and feet, and hair that was determined to not belong to the victim.
Investigators soon made contact with a local hotel, where they were informed that during February 2023, they had run out of key cards and had used Super 8 cards in the interim. Hotel staff then confirmed that Yellowhair had a stay history in February of 2023 (Goodman had not) and that the bedding agents had found “did match the bedding” used at the hotel.
The affidavit goes on to inform that on March 25, 2023, FBI agents made contact with Goodman at a Riverton hotel, where he was found hiding under a bed after the individual he was in the room with initially told agents that he was not there.
Goodman was subsequently interviewed and “denied showing anyone Yellowhair’s remains.” Goodman claimed that he “was told about the remains by a family member and asked to check it out.”
Goodman initially told agents that he had been “within three to four feet” of the victim’s remains, but later stated that he had touched Yellowhair’s shoulder and the bedding he was wrapped in. Goodman then agreed to a Buccal swab of his inner mouth and cheeks.
Two days later, on March 27, 2023, investigators received consent to search the vacant rooms at the hotel. During the search, an agent discovered “what appeared to be blood stains” in two of the rooms.
In one room, the apparent blood stain was a “smear on the mattress,” and in the other room, agents located a mattress that had been turned upside down. Upon turning it over, several blood stains were discovered.
Swabs were then taken of the apparent blood stains, and the stained portions of the mattresses were taken into evidence. All collected evidence was then sent to the Wyoming State Crime Lab for analysis.
The affidavit then goes on to inform that Goodman was arrested in an unrelated case. At this point, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents and Riverton Police Department detectives “conducted numerous interviews and reviewed recorded jail calls made by Goodman.”
During an interview with a confidential informant on August 4, 2023, a Wyoming DO special agent was told that while the informant was incarcerated with Goodman, Goodman had allegedly said to them that “he beat and stabbed a male in he throat, wrapped the body up, and threw the body out on the reservation.”
During a separate interview with a confidential source in the ensuing days, agents were told that Goodman had stated that he was “recruiting/starting a new gang called ‘the Maniacs.’ The informant stated that Goodman said he “tortured a male” at a hotel, and that he “killed he male with a machete after beating him.” The informant went on to say that Goodman claimed he jumped “on the machete while it was in his neck and tried to get the head to come off,” and that he “even made a song about the murder entitled ‘Who got the last laugh now.'” Goodman also told the second informant that he “wrapped the body in blankets/bedding” from a hotel.
A second confidential source also told agents that Goodman was “recruiting people for the ‘Midwest Maniac’ gang, and that Goodman claimed to them that he had “killed a man” at a hotel.
Investigators went on to conduct more interviews, which corroborated that Goodman frequented a residence in Saint Stephens, near where Yellowhair’s remains were found, and that he had made comments about taking Yellowhair’s life.
While Goodman remained in custody at the Fremont County Detention Center during the prosecution of the separate charges, investigators continued to monitor his calls. Agents observed “several conversations” in which Goodman referenced starting the ‘Maniac’ gang, and that he made statements about committing a murder to be in the gang.
On May 10, 2024, agents received the results of the FBI Laboratory reports from the hair that was discovered on the victim’s remains, which “indicated a possible DNA association with Goodman.” Additional results from the FBI lab, sent on April 24, 2025, indicated that the Buccal swabs taken from Goodman were compared to the DNA results from the hair and resulted in ‘very strong support for inclusion.’
On June 5, 2024, the FBI received a report from the Wyoming State Crime Lab, which contained analysis results for several evidence items that were sent in.
In summation, from the affidavit: “The lab analyzed both Yellowhair and Goodman’s DNA and found ‘very strong support’ of a mixture of Goodman’s, Yellowhair’s, and another as yet unknown individual’s DNA on one of the Super 8 room keys, swabs of fingernail clippings from Yellowhair’s left fingernail, and swabs from the black USB cord used to bind Yellowhair’s wrists.”
The affidavit also explained that ‘very strong support’ is “defined by the Wyoming State Crime Lab as a likelihood ratio of greater than 1 million,” and that “in each of these instances, the likelihood ratio was greater than 1 sextillion.”
As stated above, a warrant for Goodman’s arrest in relation to the first degree murder was then issued on July 2, 2025, and he was subsequently arrested on November 3, 2025.
Goodman’s initial appearance hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, November 5, at the Riverton Circuit Court.
In Wyoming, a murder in the first degree charge carries a maximum sentence of “imprisonment of death, life imprisonment without parole, or life imprisonment.”
Note: The Riverton Ploce Department shared the following press release shortly after the publication of this article. It is available to read in full below.
“Two years after the discovery of a body on the Wind River Reservation, a formal charge of first‐degree murder has been filed against 31-year-old John William Goodman of Riverton.
According to the affidavit filed by Detective Pete McCall of the Riverton Police Department, the victim, 37-year-old Gustave Elmer Yellowhair, was found around March 20, 2023, near St. Stephens, with his throat cut, bound feet and hands, and wrapped in hotel-style bedding. The injuries included a sliced carotid artery, jugular vein, and larynx.
While Goodman was already incarcerated—serving a federal sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm and a county sentence for aggravated assault—investigators continued to pursue the homicide case.
Fremont County Chief Deputy Attorney Tim Hancock filed the murder charge on July 2, 2025.
On November 3, 2025, Goodman was arrested in Carbon County on the filed murder warrant and is currently incarcerated at the Fremont County Detention Center pending further court proceedings.
The case remains ongoing. No further details about the court schedule or additional charges are being released at this time“