HARDIN - Two women implicated in the death of 6-year-old Mildred Alexis Old Crow have been charged in relation to the crime in Big Horn County.
Roseen Lincoln-Old Crow and Veronica Tierza Dust were charged in Big Horn County Justice Court Monday, March 20 with one count each of felony deliberate homicide and felony tampering with evidence, reports Four Points Press.
The couple is scheduled to enter their pleas in district court next week.
Court documents allege the couple was responsible for the death of Millie Old Crow sometime in April 2019.
According to a November 2020 Federal Bureau of Investigation press release, Millie Old Crow was last seen by non-custodial family in March 2019 and was reported missing in November 2020.
Court documents show, on Dec. 6, 2020 non-custodial family members filed a formal petition with the Crow Tribal Court requesting a hearing. In the petition, they allege they had not seen the child since March 2019 and Dust and Lincoln-Old Crow had “breached their fiduciary duty to the child.”
Dust and Lincoln-Old Crow failed to attend the first hearing in tribal court, produce the child, or provide any proof of life and the tribal court charged the couple with child endangerment and issued warrants for their arrest.
The couple was arrested on Dec. 23, 2020 in Billings by Billings Police on Big Horn County warrants issued in conjunction with the warrants issued from the tribal court.
The couple was found guilty in Crow Tribal Court on April 13, 2021 of child endangerment and custodial interference and sentenced to 18 months in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Rocky Mountain Detention Center in Hardin and one year on probation upon their release. They were each given a $2,000 fine.
Big Horn County warrants were issued for the arrest of the couple on March 14 and the couple was booked into Big Horn County Detention Center on March 18 without incident.
If convicted the couple faces 10 years to 100 years for felony deliberate homicide and up to 10 years and a $50,000 fine if convicted of the felony tampering with evidence charge.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an extended version of the previous article with much more detail into the probable cause of the case against Roseen Lincoln-Old Crow and Veronica Tierza Dust. Instances of child abuse and details surrounding the death of Millie Old Crow are discussed. Please take care while reading.
Two women implicated in the death of 6-year-old Mildred Alexis Old Crow were charged on Monday in Big Horn County.
Millie Old Crow’s court-appointed guardians Roseen Lincoln-Old Crow and Veronica Tierza Dust were charged in Big Horn County Justice Court Monday, March 20 with one count each of felony deliberate homicide and felony tampering with evidence. The couple is scheduled to enter their pleas in district court next week.
Court documents allege the couple was responsible for the death of Millie Old Crow sometime in April 2019 around the time of Lincoln-Old Crow’s brother's death in a one-car accident on April 15, 2019.
The affidavit of probable cause stated the co-defendants drank heavily for multiple days after the death of Lincoln Old Crow’s brother and through several interviews investigators found Millie Old Crow died sometime during that period.
According to charging documents, the co-defendants continued to collect benefits for Millie Old Crow.
Case History
Court documents show, on Dec. 6 non-custodial family members filed a formal petition with the Crow Tribal Court in which they alleged they had not seen the child since March 2019 and Dust and Lincoln-Old Crow had “breached their fiduciary duty to the child.”
Dust and Lincoln-Old Crow failed to attend the first hearing in tribal court, produce the child, or provide any proof of life and the tribal court charged the couple with child endangerment and issued warrants for their arrest.
The couple was arrested on Dec. 23, 2020 in Billings by Billings Police on Big Horn County warrants issued in conjunction with the warrants issued from the tribal court.
The couple was found guilty in Crow Tribal Court on April 13, 2021 of child endangerment and custodial interference and sentenced to 18 months in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Rocky Mountain Detention Center in Hardin and one year on probation upon their release. They were each given a $2,000 fine.
Big Horn County warrants were issued for the arrest of the couple on March 14 and the couple was booked into Big Horn County Detention Center from the BIA Rocky Mountain Detention Center in Hardin on March 18 without incident.
A $1 million bail for each co-defendant was issued and Dust was remanded to the Yellowstone County Detention Center in Billings while Lincoln-Old Crow was kept in the Big Horn County Detention Center.
Probable cause
The couple was awarded custody of Millie Old Crow in March 2017 by the Crow Social Services Department after she was removed from her biological mother’s home.
According to the probable cause affidavit, in June 2020 a call was made to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Centralized Intake line reporting the child hadn’t been seen since July 2018 and another call was made to Bureau of Indian Affairs police in November 2020 reporting the child hadn’t been seen since April 2019. The second call kicked off the Millie Old Crow’s missing person investigation.
During their April 2021 child endangerment and custodial interference trial in tribal court, Dust told Crow Tribal Court Judge Julie Yarlott that Millie Old Crow died in the bathtub.
The probable cause affidavit filed in Big Horn County District Court seemed to support Dust’s story. Although it does not mention the bathtub, the affidavit does allege after Millie Old Crow died the co-defendants left the child’s body in the bathroom for an unknown amount of time until the remains started to smell. The couple then dressed the remains, wrapped them in a plastic bag, and placed them in a plastic tote, which was taped shut and stored from April 2019 to February 2021 in a travel trailer owned by Dust at Garryowen.
The travel trailer was impounded in the early morning hours of February 17, 2021 by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office and the remains of the child were sent to the Montana State Crime Lab in Billings
An autopsy conducted on February 18, 2021 by the state crime lab found a head laceration and a right tibia fracture, which indicated an assault, according to the affidavit. The autopsy also found evidence of “habitual abuse” and malnutrition.
Lincoln-Old Crow alleged in the affidavit she was too afraid of Dust to report previous instances of violence against Millie Old Crow.
The affidavit stated the abuse took place primarily when the co-defendants had been drinking.
If convicted the couple faces 10 years to 100 years for felony deliberate homicide and up to 10 years and a $50,000 fine if convicted of the felony tampering with evidence charge.
Documents
Information: Dust, Lincoln-Old Crow
Amended Motion For Leave To File An Information Direct: Dust, Lincoln-Old Crow
Order Granting Leave To File An Information Direct: Dust, Lincoln-Old Crow
Warrant of Arrest: Dust, Lincoln-Old Crow
