Man held in death of woman who ran from LV wedding

MINNEAPOLIS -- A suburban Milwaukee optometrist has been charged in Minnesota with murdering a woman who apparently left him at the altar in Las Vegas.

Prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court that Dean Barrette tracked the woman down in a Minnesota hotel room last week and shot her in the head.

Authorities said the 44-year-old Cudahy, Wis., optometrist then returned to Wisconsin, cut the grass at the home he shared with his mother and left for an extended stay at a suburban motel.

The body of Alison Daniels, 24, was found at the Radisson University Hotel in Minneapolis on Aug. 6. Police said Daniels was an online escort from East Lansing, Mich.

"This is one twisted made-for-TV movie," Cudahy Detective Glen Haase said.

Court documents allege Barrette gave Daniels $4,000 to enter into a "sham marriage," but Daniels left Barrette behind in Las Vegas after receiving the money.

Barrette was in the Milwaukee County Jail on Wednesday and fighting extradition to Minnesota. A message left for the lawyer listed for him in court records was not immediately returned Wednesday.

The complaint did not say why the pair were meeting in Minneapolis nor what connection, if any, either had to the city. It also gave no indication why Barrette and Daniels planned a sham marriage.

The criminal complaint said Barrette booked two rooms at the Luxor Hotel on July 24. A witness reported seeing Barrette give Daniels an envelope of money there in exchange for her entering into a "sham marriage."

The ceremony was scheduled for that day, but the bride and groom never showed up, according to the complaint. The witness "left Las Vegas with Daniels, knowing Daniels didn't make good on the wedding -- essentially stealing Barrette's money," the complaint said.