Albert Apple Sr., 1963-2012

A 19-year-old man pleaded no contest to second-degree murder charges for the November 2012 death of Albert Apple Sr., who was a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

Matthew Wayne Libby was 17 years old when he was charged with murdering Apple, who was 48 years old. Libby was treated as an adult due to the serious nature of the crime.

"A joint investigation led by the Bennett County State's Attorney's Office, the Bennett County Sheriff's Office, the South Dakota Attorney General's Division of Criminal Investigation and assisted by the Martin Police Department showed that Libby had bludgeoned Apple to death in the course of attempting to rob him; and then committed a burglary of a residence as he fled the crime scene," a press release from the Bennett County State's Attorney's Office stated.

Apple was a well-liked figure on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He was a former tribal police officer who had worked for The Lakota Times, Indian Country Today and The Lakota Journal.

Apple was killed in an area near the reservation so the investigation was handled by the state and local governments and not by the tribe.

Get the Story:
Martin teen pleads ‘no contest’ in death of 48-year-old man (AP 1/17)

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