A Montana mom whose boyfriend once posed with a revolver beside her head in a chilling Facebook photo was shot dead and hidden in a freezer by him, police said. 

Cerenity Maria Shawl, 36, was found stuffed inside a freezer in the basement of an apartment building in Cut Bank, Montana, on February 7. 

The mother-of-five was found to have been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. 

Two days after her remains were found, Alfred Joseph Smith, her boyfriend, was arrested for her murder and now faces a single felony count of homicide.

The Daily Mail has uncovered a disturbing image of the pair, with Smith seen holding a revolver beside Shawl’s head. She shared the photo on her social media. 

Shawl was murdered on January 17, and Smith was arrested by officers for an unrelated matter on January 20. 

An arrest affidavit said that police searched a Ruger .357 Magnum revolver he was carrying on that day and noted that one round was missing from the six chambers.

Police believe that the firearm Smith was seen posing with is the same gun he was found to be carrying when arrested in January, the affidavit said.

The Daily Mail has since spoken with her aunt Georgette Cole who confirmed that the two have a child together, while describing Shawl as ‘loving, smart, and a free spirit’.

Alfred Joseph Smith, seen here with a revolver in his hand, is accused of murdering his girlfriend Cerenity Maria Shawl

Shawl, seen here, was found to have been killed via a single gunshot wound to the head before being stuffed inside a freezer

According to Cole, Shawl lost her mother a few years ago and was just starting to get her life back on track when she was killed.

‘She was a loving mom and she loved all her children. My niece was a free spirit, the kind of soul who brought light into a room without even trying,’ Cole said.

‘She loved deeply, especially the children in her life. Whether they were her own or simply little ones who looked up to her. 

‘She carried a softness for them that showed in the way she laughed, played and protected. To them, she was warmth. She was comfort. She was home.’

Cole said that her niece had fought through hardship her whole life, adding: ‘She was human, imperfect, learning, growing, yet always reaching for something better.’

She said: ‘Her passing was violent and heartbreaking a tragedy that has shaken our entire family and the small town of Cut Bank, Montana. 

‘No family should ever have to navigate the pain of losing someone in such a brutal way. 

‘The shock, the grief, the unanswered questions – they leave a wound that feels impossible to close.’

According to the affidavit, first reported by The Flathead Beacon, officers discovered the freezer wrapped in blankets, locked and sealed with duct tape. 

Shawl lost her mother a few years ago and was just starting to get her life back on track when she was killed, her family told the Daily Mail 

Smith, pictured here, is accused of forcing a man at gunpoint to clean up the murder scene, an arrest affidavit said 

Those on the scene reported finding patches of blood on top of the blankets binding the freezer and a strong smell of decomposition. 

After opening it, the officers found a human leg and sent the whole freezer with Shawl’s remains still inside for an autopsy. 

Shirley Racine first raised the alarm after hearing a rumor that Smith gunned down Shawl inside an apartment in the building, the affidavit said. 

In a police interview, Racine said she had been told that Smith shot Shawl in a bedroom and then repainted it to cover up his alleged crimes. 

Officers reviewed body camera footage of their own after being previously called to the home and discovered a bedroom had been recently repainted from white to yellow when they entered the home to investigate Shawl’s death. 

The affidavit said that a Tony Manyguns then told police he was ‘extremely scared’ of Smith who he claimed forced him to clean up the murder scene at gunpoint.

Manyguns told officers he was forced into the home and led to a bedroom where Smith pulled back a blanket to reveal Shawl’s remains. 

The apartment building in Cut Bank is pictured here, Shawl’s remains were found dumped in a freezer in the basement of the property 

Shawl’s family said she fought hardship her whole life but had recently turned a corner when she was killed

According to his statement, Shawl was slumped forward and sitting on a milkcrate. Smith used a flashlight to show him the entry and exit wounds, Manyguns told cops. 

Manyguns said Smith told him that he and Shawl were arguing and when she tried to grab the firearm from him he shot her in the head. 

The trajectory of the bullet caused it to go through a wall behind Shawl and enter another room, smashing a coffee pot. 

Manyguns told officers he was forced to clean the room using towels and dish soap before being forced to stay inside the property for two days. 

After being held inside for two days he claimed that Smith threatened to murder Manyguns and his mother if they spoke of what happened. 

Cole added: ‘Through this devastation, our family is doing what families do in the darkest moments – holding each other up. 

‘Trying to breathe through the pain. Trying to honor her memory while carrying the weight of what happened.

‘There is no roadmap for this kind of grief, especially when it comes so suddenly and so cruelly.’

Smith is being held on a $1 million bond following his arrest in Fort Benton on February 9.