Federal Jury Convicts Broken Arrow Resident Of Voluntary Manslaughter In Indian Country

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Martha Christine Simpson, age 45, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma was found guilty by a federal jury of Voluntary Manslaughter in Indian Country.

The jury trial began with testimony on Monday, May 2, 2022, and concluded on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, with the guilty verdict.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that during the early morning hours of July 15, 2019, Jabaica Tecumseh and Tommy Tecumseh came to Martha Simpson’s Broken Arrow home. Jabaica Tecumseh and Tommy Tecumseh beat and kicked Martha Simpson’s boyfriend, Trevor Richardson. Martha Simpson then stabbed Richardson with a knife.

Richardson’s body was wrapped in a blanket and loaded in the trunk of his own vehicle. Jabaica Tecumseh drove the vehicle from the crime scene and later burned the body at a remote location in Okmulgee County. After the killing, Simpson cleaned up the crime scene.

The guilty verdict was the result of an investigation by the Broken Arrow Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the defendant in this case is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crime occurred in Wagoner County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. Simpson was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending the imposition of sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney William Cosner and Assistant United States Attorney Michael Mazur represented the United States.