GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - A Poplar man who originally told police that his girlfriend had killed herself has been sentenced to just over 13 years in federal prison.
Delvin Red Eagle earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the January 2016 death of 25-year-old Roxanne Morsette. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls.
Federal prosecutors said Red Eagle shot Morsette then placed the rifle under her body and called 911 and reported she killed herself.
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An autopsy determined it would have been physically impossible for Morsette to sustain a self-inflicted, close-range gunshot wound with the rifle.
Red Eagle eventually told investigators he took a rifle away from Morsette and pointed it at her. He said he pulled the trigger, but did not expect it to fire a round.
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