The Latest: Prison sentences meted out in Montana murder

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Latest on the sentencing of three defendants convicted in the killing of a woman on Montana’s Crow Indian Reservation (all times local):

5 p.m.

A federal judge has sentenced a 21-year-old Montana man to life in federal prison in the murder of a woman who died two months after being strangled and lit on fire on the Crow Indian Reservation.

Attorneys for defendant Dimarzio Swade Sanchez said they would appeal Friday’s sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Susan Watters.

A jury last year found Sanchez guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Roylynn Rides Horse.

The victim’s mother, Earnestine Pretty Weasel, says Rides Horse left behind six children.

Two accomplices also were sentenced Friday. Angelica Jo Whiteman received 40 years in prison with five years of supervised release.

Dimarzio Sanchez’s younger brother, Frank, received nine years in prison with three years of supervised release.

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10:30

A federal judge has sentenced a 21-year-old Montana man to life in federal prison in the murder of a woman who died two months after being strangled and lit on fire on the Crow Indian Reservation.

Attorneys for defendant Dimarzio Swade Sanchez said they would appeal Friday’s sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Susan Watters.

A jury last year found Sanchez guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Roylynn Rides Horse.

The victim’s mother, Earnestine Pretty Weasel, says Rides Horse left behind six children.

Pretty Weasel says she initially wanted Sanchez to suffer the same fate as her daughter, but now forgives and prays for him.

Two accomplices were due to be sentenced later Thursday for their involvement in the killing.