Man convicted of murder in Indian Country

A federal grand jury this week found a 34- year- old Carnegie man guilty of using a crowbar to murder a homeless man in Indian Country.

Isaiah Whitefox Redbird was accused of fatally striking Byron “Subee” Tongkeamah Jr. on the head with a crowbar on Sept. 11, 2018.

The next morning, police found Tongkeamah's girlfriend, Kayleigh Roughface, disoriented and walking down a Carnegie street bloodied from severe head injuries.

Roughface had a fractured skull, a fractured eye socket, a broken arm and a broken finger.

Investigators later that morning found Tongkeamah's dead body lying on a foam mattress in an enclosed porch of an abandoned house where he and Roughface had taken refuge.

Prosecutors said Redbird approached the pair while they were in bed on the mattress and struck each of them multiple times on the head with the crowbar.

Tongkeamah's skull was shattered.

He died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries.

Redbird left the scene and buried the crowbar in the mud of the Washita River, then burned and buried his clothes, before fleeing to Arizona.

Roughface lost all memory of the night of the attack, according to authorities.

During his trial, Redbird claimed there was an altercation in the carport and he acted in self-defense.

Numerous tribal members testified against Redbird, who is a member of the Kiowa Tribe.

Audio recordings of his phone conversations revealed Redbird believed he had a duty to execute Tongkeamah and Roughface based on rumors he had heard about them.

A federal judge previously ruled Redbird was mentally competent to face trial.

The federal jury deliberated for two days before finding Redbird guilty of premeditated murder against Tongkeamah, and guilty of assault causing serious bodily injury to Roughface.

At sentencing in three months, Redbird faces a mandatory life sentence without parole in federal prison.