Deceased/Not Found OK - Faith Lindsey, 17, Seminole Co, 29 Oct 2019 *Arrest*

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Scrapper18 said:
OSCN Case Details

So, it appears the defense won and the case is being dismissed by the state due to the crime occurring in Indian Territory. TW is being held for 30 days for the Chickasaw Tribe to get their warrant. At least that is how I read it. I have no clue of how to follow the case from here:
Click to expand...
The case has not been filed in OK Eastern District as of today. Once there's a case number, I suggest Court Listner for updates -- it's free, public access.

Advanced Legal Opinion Search – CourtListener.com
 
Scrapper18 said:
Will this list tribal proceedings? My understanding is tribal is completely separate from state. Though, I could be wrong.
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There's no reason to believe this will be in tribal court. I've no doubt that it will be picked up in US Eastern District because the default for all serious, felony crimes thus far has been federal court. Court Listener and Pacer both provide dockets for federal court cases.

Despite the Supreme Court win -- tribal courts in Oklahoma and on reservations across Indian Country rarely have the authority to try felony cases and have very limited authority over people outside the tribe even in incidents that occur on tribal lands.

Now, the U.S. attorney’s offices will have to handle serious crimes, including murder and assault, as their peers do in cases involving tribal reservations in more than a dozen states.

Half of Oklahoma Is Now Indian Country. What Does That Mean for Criminal Justice There?
 
Seattle1 said:
There's no reason to believe this will be in tribal court. I've no doubt that it will be picked up in US Eastern District because the default for all serious, felony crimes thus far has been federal court. Court Listener and Pacer both provide dockets for federal court cases.

Despite the Supreme Court win -- tribal courts in Oklahoma and on reservations across Indian Country rarely have the authority to try felony cases and have very limited authority over people outside the tribe even in incidents that occur on tribal lands.

Now, the U.S. attorney’s offices will have to handle serious crimes, including murder and assault, as their peers do in cases involving tribal reservations in more than a dozen states.

Half of Oklahoma Is Now Indian Country. What Does That Mean for Criminal Justice There?
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Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation!
 
MAY 14, 2021
Stratford man in federal custody after charged for allegedly murdering girlfriend (kxii.com)

QOG5RDP7PRBMRMTYLGH76CGJPY.png


[...]

Court documents show Washington tried to seek the McGirt ruling, which states that Oklahoma district attorneys have no jurisdiction in tribal crimes committed to or against tribal citizens.

But Pontotoc District Attorney Paul Smith said the federal government picked up his case, and said Washington will remain in federal custody in the Pittsburg County Jail in McAlester.

Smith said Washington has been charged for murder in Indian Country. He is due in court via video conference on May 17, 2021 at 10 a.m.

MAY 18, 2021
Feds to prosecute 2019 Pauls Valley murder case - (kten.com)
Tanner Dean Washington, the 26-year-old man accused of murdering his 17-year-old girlfriend in Pauls Valley, is heading to federal court.

This is yet another big case in southern Oklahoma that state prosecutors were forced to drop because of the Supreme Court's McGirt vs. Oklahoma ruling.

[...]

MAY 20, 2021
Federal Charge Filed Against Man In Connection To Missing Pauls Valley Teen (news9.com)
[...]

The case ended up being dismissed in Pontotoc County. But a federal complaint for first-degree murder against Washington was filed in federal court earlier this month.

The new criminal complaint details that on or about October 27 of 2019 Washington willfully and maliciously shot Lindsey.

The probable cause affidavit also states Washington told an ex-girlfriend Lindsey was dead and he was the reason why.

Court documents stated that ex noticed blood on Washington's shoes, pants and phone.

Officials with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation were later given all clear, following search warrants, and found that same blood on Washington’s clothing as well as in the Camaro he was driving and in a truck he had just sold.

[...]
 
PommyMommy said:
MAY 14, 2021
Stratford man in federal custody after charged for allegedly murdering girlfriend (kxii.com)

Wow, thank you so much for all the information!

QOG5RDP7PRBMRMTYLGH76CGJPY.png


[...]

Court documents show Washington tried to seek the McGirt ruling, which states that Oklahoma district attorneys have no jurisdiction in tribal crimes committed to or against tribal citizens.

But Pontotoc District Attorney Paul Smith said the federal government picked up his case, and said Washington will remain in federal custody in the Pittsburg County Jail in McAlester.

Smith said Washington has been charged for murder in Indian Country. He is due in court via video conference on May 17, 2021 at 10 a.m.

MAY 18, 2021
Feds to prosecute 2019 Pauls Valley murder case - (kten.com)
Tanner Dean Washington, the 26-year-old man accused of murdering his 17-year-old girlfriend in Pauls Valley, is heading to federal court.

This is yet another big case in southern Oklahoma that state prosecutors were forced to drop because of the Supreme Court's McGirt vs. Oklahoma ruling.

[...]

MAY 20, 2021
Federal Charge Filed Against Man In Connection To Missing Pauls Valley Teen (news9.com)
[...]

The case ended up being dismissed in Pontotoc County. But a federal complaint for first-degree murder against Washington was filed in federal court earlier this month.

The new criminal complaint details that on or about October 27 of 2019 Washington willfully and maliciously shot Lindsey.

The probable cause affidavit also states Washington told an ex-girlfriend Lindsey was dead and he was the reason why.

Court documents stated that ex noticed blood on Washington's shoes, pants and phone.

Officials with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation were later given all clear, following search warrants, and found that same blood on Washington’s clothing as well as in the Camaro he was driving and in a truck he had just sold.

[...]
Click to expand...
 
I know he doesn’t want to make an admission of guilt and doesn’t want to further incriminate himself, but I just wish he would tell where her body is. It’s so heartbreaking to me that her family spends every day just wondering where she is…

I hope someday he cracks. That or if he’s found guilty, he finally gives her family an answer to the question they’ve been hopelessly asking: where is Faith?
 
A look at the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women featured in Dateline NBC’s Missing in America and Cold Case Spotlight

faith_lindsey_cropped.jpg


Faith Lindsey went missing from the Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Tanner Washington, on October 28, 2019.

Faith’s sister, Justice, told Dateline in December 2019 that a panicked Washington texted her that night and said he couldn’t find Faith. Shortly after, Justice said she began receiving suspicious hang up calls and strange messages with misspellings from her sister’s phone.

Throughout the investigation, agents developed probable cause that Washington was responsible for Faith’s death, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).

On December 19, 2019, the Del City Police arrested Washington at a 7-Eleven in Del City, Oklahoma, and charged him with first-degree murder.

However, due to the Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling in August 2020, which changed the way state authorities prosecute Native Americans, Washington filed to have the case dropped because the alleged crime took place on Native American land. The case was dismissed in Pontotoc County.

But in May 2021, a federal complaint for first-degree murder against Washington was filed in federal court. According to the new criminal complaint, Washington willfully and maliciously shot Lindsey on or about October 27, 2019. He has pleaded not guilty.

Court documents state that blood was found on Washington’s clothes, and following search warrants obtained by the OSBI, the same blood was found in the car he was driving and a truck he had just sold. The blood found was a biological match to DNA provided by Lindsey’s parents.

The OSBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the location of Faith’s body.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the OSBI at 800-522-8017 or tips@osbi.ok.gov.
 
OCT 28, 2021
Two years after disappearance, OSBI still searching for missing Ada teen
[...]

“The search area where we have been looking for her remains is Seminole county, Garvin county and Pontotoc county,” Arbeitman said. “I know that we have done numerous searches for her based off of evidence and interviews that we’ve conducted, I also know her family has done numerous searches.”

Investigators are hopeful that their persistence will encourage someone who knows something to come forward.

“This 17 year old has not been located,” Arbeitman said. “We want to keep her name out there, we want somebody to call us with that tiny missing piece of information that can help us locate her.”

If you know anything about the disappearance of Faith Lindsey please call the OSBI tip line at (800) 522-8017 right away.

Also see:
249207302_4382741728441650_5811216518683082474_n.jpg
 
Last edited:
OCT 30, 2021
OSBI hopes for information in Faith Lindsey case
[...]

According to an affidavit filed by Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Samuel McAfee, authorities believe that Washington "willfully and maliciously shot Lindsey in the vicinity of Ada/Sasakwa, Oklahoma, causing her death."

In the affidavit, McAfee said that on Oct. 28, 2019, Washington told an ex-girlfriend that Lindsey was dead and he was the reason she had been killed. "(The ex-girlfriend) observed that Washington had what appeared to be blood on his shoes, pants, and iPhone cellular phone," McAfee said. "Washington told (his ex-girlfriend) that it was Lindsey's blood (that was) on those items."

[...]

Law enforcement officers later found several clues during the investigation. As well as the blood on Washington's clothing and phone, investigators discovered blood in Washington's car, and in a pickup he had sold shortly after Lindsey's disappearance.

"Consent to search the ... truck was given by the current owner, and blood was discovered on the carpet of the back seat and on a set of sunglasses," McAfee said. "Buccal swabs obtained from Lindsey's mother and father were a biological match to samples of the blood found."

[...]
 
ChatteringBirds said:
Someone recently asked if Faith could be a Jane Doe found in Texas in January of 2020 near a trail. JD is estimated to have been 12 - 18 years old and to have passed away in 2019. There is a reconstruction. Here is the NamUs link for Jane Doe:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Click to expand...
Fort Bend County TX is a long way from Seminole County OK, but it is possible to make the trip without being gone for too long (7 hours each way). The reconstruction looks similar.
 
AUG 29, 2022
www.theadanews.com

Suspect in Faith Lindsey case to plead guilty to amended charge

A man suspected of killing 17-year-old Faith Lindsey is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in federal court to an amended charge.
www.theadanews.com www.theadanews.com
[...]

According to federal court documents, Tanner Dean Washington, 27, of Stratford -- originally charged with murder in Indian Country -- is expected to "enter a plea of guilty to amended charges under the terms of a plea agreement negotiated between the parties."

On Monday, the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma filed a charge of second-degree murder against Washington, saying that Washington, "a non-Indian, with malice aforethought, did unlawfully kill Faith Lindsey, an Indian, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1111(a), 1151, and 1152."

Terms of the plea agreement did not appear in court records.

When asked if Washington has -- or is intending to -- reveal what happened to the victim in the case, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Christopher Wilson said he was not at liberty to discuss that "at this time."

[...]
 
SEP 1, 2022
www.theadanews.com

Washington admits to killing Faith Lindsey

Tanner Dean Washington, 27, of Stratford appeared in federal court Wednesday and admitted to killing his then girlfriend, 17-year-old Faith Lindsey, in 2019.
www.theadanews.com www.theadanews.com
Tanner Dean Washington, 27, of Stratford appeared in federal court Wednesday and admitted to killing his then girlfriend, 17-year-old Faith Lindsey, in 2019.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Indian Country.

Washington admitted that “On or about October 27, 2019, I did unlawfully kill Faith Lindsey with malice aforethought,” Washington said in a court record.

Although Wednesday’s admission was part of a plea agreement, there is no agreement between the federal government and Washington as far as sentencing, meaning he could face any number of years up to life in prison.

Per usual, a pre-sentence report was ordered, and sentencing will take place upon its completion. A pre-sentence report often takes months to complete.

[...]
 
SEP 1, 2022
kfor.com

Then-boyfriend admits to killing Faith Lindsey

The boyfriend of missing Oklahoma teenager Faith Lindsey admitted to killing her.
kfor.com kfor.com
According to court documents, the day after the murder Washington told people “Lindsey had been shot in the head” over the weekend.

Washington also allegedly told an ex-girlfriend “Lindsey was dead, and he was the reason she had been killed.” The ex-girlfriend also said she observed that “Washington had what appeared to be blood on his shoes, pants, and iPhone cellular phone. The documents go on to show that Washington told the girl “it was Lindsey’s blood on those items.”

Court records also reveal blood samples “discovered on the carpet of the back seat and on a set of sunglasses” in Washington’s old car were found to be “a biological match” to Lindsey’s parents.

“The evidence seems pretty strong and if he had gone to jury trial and got convicted the judge would have given him life in prison. He would never have gotten out,” explained Ed Blau, a legal expert. “[Pleading guilty] at least gives him an opportunity to see daylight once again before he’s 90 years old.”

[...]
 
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