November 24, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
After two days of deliberation, a jury has found a Carnegie man guilty of premeditated murder and assault stemming from a 2018 case.
34-year-old Isaiah Whitefox Redbird was found guilty Tuesday of the federal charges.
According to U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing, Redbird bore a grudge against Byron “Subee” Tongkeamah Jr., and his girlfriend, Kayleigh Roughface, who, at the time, were homeless Native American residents of Carnegie.
According to Downing, Redbird entered an enclosed porch of an abandoned house on the night of September 11, 2018, where Tongkeamah Jr. and Roughface had taken refuge and approached them where they were in bed on a foam mattress on the floor.
The next morning, Carnegie police discovered a disoriented Roughface walking down the street in Carnegie. She was covered with dried blood and had massive trauma, including a fractured skull, a fractured eye socket, a broken arm and a broken finger. Soon after that, officers discovered the body of Tongkeamah Jr. inside the enclosed porch.
The jury determined that Redbird struck each of them multiple times on the head with a crowbar. Tongkeamah Jr. died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries to his skull, which was shattered by the blows.
Downing says after the assault Redbird fled, buried the crowbar in the mud of the Washita River, burned and buried his clothes, and fled to Arizona. Roughface survived, despite losing all memory of the night of the attack.
Downing says obtained audio-recordings of Redbird’s phone conversations revealed that he believed he had a duty to execute Tongkeamah Jr. and Roughface based on rumors he had heard about them. Multiple tribal members testified against Redbird. At trial, Redbird claimed there had been an altercation in the carport, and he acted in self-defense.
The federal government has jurisdiction over the offense because Redbird is a Kiowa Indian, and the offense occurred in Indian country.
At sentencing, which will be set by the court in approximately three months, Redbird will receive mandatory life in federal prison without parole, according to Downing.
