MUSKOGEE, OK—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that DAKOTA LANE WILLISTON, age 19, of Idabel, Oklahoma was arraigned in federal court today.

The defendant is charged with Murder in the First Degree in Indian Country Committed During the Perpetration of Child Abuse, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1111, 1151 and 1153, punishable by imprisonment for life and/or up to $250,000.00 fine.

The Indictment alleges that on about July 23, 2013, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Indian country, DAKOTA LANE WILLISTON, an Indian, did unlawfully kill Payton Cockrell, a 2 year old female human being, during the perpetration of child abuse, as defined by Title 18, United States Code, Section 1111(c)(3), against Payton Cockrell.

The charges are a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office and the Choctaw Nation Tribal Police.

The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. The defendant was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshal Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.