BILLINGS — A 24-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to participating in the beating and burning death of a woman on Montana’s Crow Indian Reservation under an agreement that could allow her to avoid life in prison.
Angelica Jo Whiteman broke down crying in federal court Wednesday as she admitted to beating and strangling 28-year-old Roylynn Rides Horse during an April 2016 assault. She died of her injuries nearly three months later.
Whiteman pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting first-degree murder, which carries a potential life sentence.
In hopes of receiving a lesser sentence, Whiteman agreed to help prosecutors as they pursue a first-degree murder charge against Dimarzio Swade Sanchez.
Whiteman said Sanchez poured gasoline on Rides Horse and set her on fire while Rides Horse was conscious.
Sanchez’s brother, Frank, has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.