A Pine Ridge Reservation teenager has been indicted by a federal grand jury for the murders of 2 homeless people on the reservation within a month of each during the summer of last year.
18-year old Jonathan Eagle Elk is charged with 2 counts of 2nd-degree murder for the beating deaths of 51-year old Louis “Tex” Swift Bird Jr on June 20, 2022, and 57-year old Maria Makes Him First on July 17, 2022.
Prosecutor and Assistant U-S Attorney for South Dakota Sarah Collins says both Swift Bird and Makes Him First were lying defenseless on the ground when they were attacked.
The investigation has been conducted jointly by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety.
Eagle Elk made his first court appearance a week ago Monday and entered Not Guilty pleas to both counts. He remains in the custody of the U-S Marshals Service pending trial, but a trial date has not yet been set.