Allen woman sentenced to 21 years for grisly murder on Pine Ridge

 

 

RAPID CITY—Chief US District Judge Roberto Lange, handed down a sentence of 21 years on 20 year old Jonnie Fineran Thursday morning, from a case that first happened in July 2020.

Lange, in speaking of the sentence and where Fineran is presently incarcerated at Fort Worth Texas, said “I hope you mature and grow out of whatever impulse that” promoted the planned execution of one to two people.

Also looking forward, Lange granted an upward variance for extreme conduct, with can increase the range of possible incarceration, from 168-210 months, to 210-262 months.

Fineran, having already served 707 days, will have these days taken off as time served off, she will also receive five years of supervised release, compliance with probation office recommendations, drug tests, DNA collection, cooperation with psychological evaluation as required and medical treatment as provided. Likewise she will have to pay the mandatory $100 to the special victims fund.

When Fineran was only 18 years old, she was arrested with a 14 year old juvenile referred to in court documents and testimony as TSB, both would be charged with murder of Thomas Sitting Bear on July 24, 2020.

According to factual accounts, Sitting Bear would be stabbed over 60 times, including 10 that punctured his heart, and was beaten with a baseball bat in the downstairs bedroom of a house. The body was found in a plastic tote bin.

FBI Special Agent Matt Weber, provided testimony Thursday morning, regarding three exhibits from the prosecution, showed three images including the body in the plastic tote bin, out of the tote bin, and on the autopsy table.

Weber said body camera footage from an Oglala Sioux Tribe Public Safety officer showed TSB, who later was identified as the person who called 911, without blood on her at the front door. He said TSB then told the officer that the “murderer” was still downstairs. Weber said that TSB walked the officer downstairs where Fineran was observed with her clothes and face covered in blood, had rubber gloves on and was cleaning blood off of the walls.

Weber said during an interview, TSB said Fineran brought roober gloves, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, a knife and melatonin to her house. He said TSB said the rubbing alcohol was for use on Sitting Bear’s eyes and the melatonin to put TSB’s grandmother, who was in the upstairs portion of the house to sleep.

According to Weber, TSB said Fineran had previously described wanting to be a murderer and cannibal, and TSB saw Fineran dig into one of the stab wounds and eat something.

Weber said Fineran  remembered joking, that her fantasy became a reality and later said she didn’t think “the other personality” would eat human meat without being cooked.

Defense attorney Jennifer Alberson said it had been noted in an evaluation that TSB had been suicidal and homicidal one week before the murder. She also said Fineran disputed anything having to do with cannibalism. Albertson also said Fineran has not denied her part in the murder or any of the factual basis statements.

Alberson said Fineran and TSB met at a western South Dakota mental hospital in 2018 where they were both in for expressional and suicidal thoughts. She said Fineran felt protective over TSB and TSB said she didn’t want to be at home and wanted her family to suffer. Alberson said Fineran described things that happened to TSB at home as horrible.

Albertson said Fineran was being treated by the Indian Health Service, which “failed miserably”, and said that became clear once Fineran was on different medication supplied by the Pennington County Jail. “I don’t think this would have happened if she was not overlooked and over-medicated,” Alberson said. Alberson added that long incarceration periods can be worse for young people and she would want Fineran out sooner rather than later. She said she doesn’t believe either Fineran or TSB are actually dangerous. Fineran addressed the court and said she was extremely sorry for what happened to both the victim’s family and her own.

Assistant US Attorney Benjamin Patterson requested 24 years of incarceration, based off the “absolute brutality” of Fineran’s actions. “One has to believe that Thomas Sitting Bear suffered beyond comprehension during” the portion of events when he was blinded with rubbing alcohol and stabbed 62 times in the neck, head, chest and abdomen, Patterson said.

He said TSB was certainly involved, but TSB also called 911 and talked to officers. Patterson said he had no words to describe the events and the heinous and cruel actions against Sitting Bear. Fineran’s father spoke of his daughter’s character and said she is shy, quiet, loving, caring and everyone loves her. Lange said while he understands Fineran’s father is facing a loss of his own, the greatest loss is to the Sitting Bear family, who will never have their loved one returned to them.

(Contact Joe Budd at sales2@nativesunnews.today)

 

 

The post Allen woman sentenced to 21 years for grisly murder on Pine Ridge first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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