KELOLAND.com

Allen woman sentenced on federal murder charge

(Credit: Getty Images)

ALLEN, S.D. (KELO) — A 20-year-old Allen, South Dakota, woman convicted of Second Degree Murder was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison on June 30, 2022.

Jonnie Fineran’s sentence was handed down by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, according to a release by United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell.

Fineran was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2020 for killing Thomas Sitting Bear by stabbing him over 60 times with a knife in July 2020 in Manderson, South Dakota. Fineran was 18 at the time.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

Fineran’s prison sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.