A South Dakota man whose life sentence was commuted by former Gov. Kristi Noem is now implicated in the death of a 14-year-old girl, according to reports citing Sioux Falls police. Earlier this year, the teen went missing in March, prompting a days-long search. Her body is reported to have been found in a rural area five days after she disappeared. Police statements reported by outlets say the man was charged in connection with the death.
The reports also say that two men have been charged in the case, including the individual whose sentence was commuted by Noem. While the outlets focus on the link between the commutation and the new charges, they do not provide additional details in the provided excerpts about the evidence or specific counts in the charges. The articles present the commutation history as background to the current allegations raised by law enforcement in the investigation into the teen’s death.
