In the winter of 2016, the life of a young, 25-year-old White / Caucasian woman named Roxanne Marie Morsette was tragically cut short on January 27th in Fort Peck, Montana. A resident of the Fort Peck Reservation, she was described as a gentle and caring person with a warmhearted smile, who was just beginning to explore life.
Initially, her death was reported as a suicide by her 23-year-old boyfriend, Delvin Red Eagle. He contacted tribal police and claimed that Morsette had taken her own life. However, investigators quickly became suspicious of his account. Ken Trottier, the supervisory criminal investigator for the Fort Peck Tribes, noted that the evidence found at the home where Morsette died was not consistent with a suicide.
This led to a deeper investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
As the investigation progressed, inconsistencies between Red Eagle's story and the evidence at the scene became more apparent. This culminated in a federal indictment against him in May 2016. The following month, Delvin Red Eagle was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, as well as the use and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. Federal authorities alleged that he had shot and killed Morsette with a rifle. After his arrest, Red Eagle pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.
