An Oklahoma man, alongside his girlfriend, “bludgeoned” his girlfriend’s relative with a brick, before dumping the victim’s remains in a wildlife refuge, federal authorities said.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Oklahoma, Tevin Terrell Semien, 29, and co-defendant Nicole Leigh Logsdon, 24, were indicted for the May 2023 murder of 68-year-old Karon “Dinkers” Conneywerdy Smith.
Semien admitted to officers that he “agreed” to kill Smith and went to her home and “bludgeoned” Smith to death “with a brick, put her body in the trunk of her vehicle, and disposed of her body in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge,” the affidavit said.
Semien also admitted to law enforcement that his girlfriend requested that he murder her relative, Smith, because the pair allegedly had a falling out.
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According to the affidavit, Smith was part of a Native American tribe, the Comanche Nation, and was found dead on May 17, 2023, in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge by authorities.
Investigators searched the woman’s home and found blood “consistent with a violent struggle,” authorities said. Law enforcement noted that Smith’s vehicle was missing from her home.
Days later, on May 21, Texas law enforcement observed the victim’s vehicle driving south of Dallas, Texas.
Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, but Semien and Logsdon fled and led police on a high-speed chase before crashing into a lake.
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The two attempted to flee on foot but were apprehended, police said.
In an interview with authorities that day, Semien initially denied involvement in the death before he admitted that he had killed her, admitting that Lodgson was his girlfriend, as well as a relative of the victim.
Semien pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction.
On Jan. 10, Logsdon pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder, and admitted to helping Semien in his attempt to avoid arrest and prosecution.
Semien faces up to life in federal prison, and Logsdon faces 15 years in prison if convicted.
