McGirt ruling aftermath: New sentence for man convicted in woman’s killing
An Ada man whose murder conviction was vacated after the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma decision has been sentenced again to prison.
This week in Muskogee federal court, Tyler Jay Mullins, 45, was sentenced to concurrent life sentences in prison for one count of first-degree murder in Indian Country and one count of using a firearm to commit the murder.
In April 2002, prosecutors charged Mullins in connection with the death of his former girlfriend, Rachel Woodall, 21, after he led police to a body buried in rural Seminole County.
News of the killing and subsequent arrest shocked students and staff at East Central University, where both were sophomores.
Woodall, a Stratford native, studied nursing. Mullins was a business administration major.
Woodall’s roommates reported her missing about April 20, 2002.
A neighbor reported seeing Mullins at Woodall’s home, according to an affidavit filed in Pontotoc County District Court. The neighbor also reported hearing a woman scream.
Police examined Mullins’ car and said they found traces of blood on its exterior and inside the trunk.
Later Mullins led police to a secluded area outside of Sasakwa in southern Seminole County. The body was buried in a shallow grave, and police found evidence of a fatal head wound.
Prosecutors said Mullins attacked and beat Woodall, took her to another location, then shot her three times and buried the body.
In December 2002, Mullins entered a guilty plea to a charge of first-degree murder in Pontotoc County District Court.
In March 2021, his conviction was vacated based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which concluded the Muscogee Nation’s reservation was still intact.
The decision has since been applied to seven more tribal reservations, and those lands collectively cover much of eastern Oklahoma. States have limited powers over tribal citizens on tribal lands.
Mullins committed his crimes in Pontotoc and Seminole counties, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation and the Seminole Nation Reservation.
On June 30, 2022, a federal jury found Mullins guilty. Authorities said the U.S. Marshals Service had detained Mullins until his federal conviction.
“Although the pursuit of justice for the victim’s family was interrupted by a change in jurisdiction, the cooperative work of state and federal law enforcement allowed the United States Attorney’s Office to successfully prosecute the case after more than twenty years,” U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson said in a statement. “The sentences imposed in federal prison now ensure the defendant will spend the rest of his life answering for his heinous crimes.”