Martin Woman Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 10, 2014 |
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Martin, South Dakota woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter was sentenced on April 4, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Stephanie Red Willow, age 26, was sentenced to custody until April 11, 2014, for a total of over six months’ custody, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Red Willow was indicted for felony child abuse and neglect and involuntary manslaughter by a federal grand jury on September 24, 2013. She pled guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge on November 27, 2013.
The charge related to Red Willow consuming alcohol and then falling asleep while holding her infant child on a couch on July 23, 2013, in Martin. She awoke to find the child face down and unresponsive. The child was later pronounced dead at the Martin hospital.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.
Red Willow was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.