Federal jury returns guilty verdict for brutal murder of woman on Crow Reservation

Friday, December 8, 2017

A federal jury returned a guilty verdict for the brutal murder of RoyLynn Rides Horse on the Crow Reservation in Montana.

Rides Horse, 28, was brutally attacked, burned and left for dead in April 2016. She later succumbed to her injuries and three people were charged in connection with the incident, which helped galvanize attention to missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

Following a four-day trial in federal court, Dimarzio Swade Sanchez, 20, was convicted of first degree murder. He faces a mandatory life term in prison when he is sentenced on March 29, 2018, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Thursday.

Previously, co-defendant Angelica Jo Whiteman, 19, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting first-degree murder. She is due to be sentenced on January 3, 2018, and is facing life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.

Co-defendant Frank James Sanchez, 19, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony and accessory after the fact. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 18, 2018 and is facing maximum punishment of fifteen years in prison, $125,000 fine and three years supervised release.

According to The Billings Gazette, Whiteman and Frank Sanchez were unable to offer an explanation for the attack on Rides Horse. Dimarzio is Frank's brother.

Read More on the Story:
Jury finds man guilty of burning woman to death on Crow Reservation (The Billings Gazette December 7, 2017)
Jury finds Dimarzio Sanchez guilty in burning death of Crow Agency woman (KULR December 7, 2017)
Murder conviction for Montana man who set woman on fire (The Associated Press December 7, 2017)
Burning death trial: Co-defendants offer no explanation for attack on Crow Agency woman (The Billings Gazette December 5, 2017)
Woman admits she helped murder Crow Agency woman who was beaten, burned to death (The Billings Gazette August 30, 2017)