Frank Sanchez, one of three people charged with beating and burning Roylynn Rideshorse of Crow Agency before leaving her to die in a field in Busby last year, indicated that he will plead guilty.
Sanchez, 18 years old, indicated in a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Billings on Monday that he would plead guilty to lesser charges.
A judge ordered Tuesday that the hearing would be set for April 10.
Frank Sanchez is charged along with Dimarzio Swade Sanchez, 18, and Angelico Joe Whiteman, 23, who face charges of first-degree murder for the death of Rideshorse, 28.
Frank was indicted in July on one count of first degree murder and aiding and abetting for his role in the murder.
According to the plea agreement, Frank will not answer to the murder charge and will instead plead guilty to one count of aiding and abetting murder and one count of accessory after the fact.
Frank has agreed to admit he knew his co-defendants committed the crime but failed to report it to authorities and tried to conceal the crime.
Frank acknowledged in the plea agreement that Dimarzio and Whiteman killed Rideshorse, but it is unclear if he will testify against his co-defendants at trial.
According to the complaint, Dimarzio and Whiteman offered to take Rideshorse home to Crow Agency after she got into an argument with her boyfriend at the Kirby Saloon in Busby.
Four others were in the vehicle, according to court documents, but it’s unclear if Frank was a passenger.
Once they were inside the vehicle, Whiteman allegedly jumped in the backseat and began beating Rideshorse and strangled her until she lost consciousness.
The vehicle stopped at a field along Highway 212, where Rideshorse was dragged out of the vehicle.
Rideshorse was then doused with gasoline and set on fire.
Rideshorse, a mother of six, was left partially naked in the field to die.
She was found 14 hours later and taken to a hospital where was treated for frostbite and third-degree burns over 45 percent of her body, according to court documents.
RidesHorse died three months later at the hospital.
The two offenses Frank has agreed to plead guilty to carry a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison.
Following the notice that Frank would plead guilty, attorneys for Whiteman filed a request to move her trial date forward due to “massive and continuing” evidence.
None of the three defendants was listed as an inmate at the Yellowstone County jail on Tuesday.
