Eagle Butte Woman Sentenced for Voluntary Manslaughter

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, woman convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter was sentenced on June 14, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Richelle Bowker, age 37, was sentenced to 126 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, $9,464.76 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Bowker was indicted by a federal grand jury for Second Degree Murder on July 14, 2015.  She pled guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter on March 8, 2016.

Bowker and the victim had been in a relationship for approximately eight years.  The conviction stemmed from an incident on June 9, 2015, when Bowker and the victim began arguing.  At some point, the victim took Bowker’s  phone and broke it in half.  Bowker went to the kitchen, grabbed a steak knife and stabbed him with it six times.  The victim was stabbed three times in his chest, twice in his right shoulder and back, and once in his left hand.  He died as a result of the multiple stab wounds.

This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.

Bowker was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.