Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A woman from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell and handed down by U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte on August 11, 2025.
Jaclyn Blue Coat, 26, will also serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Blue Coat was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2024 and entered her guilty plea on May 15, 2025. According to court records, she stabbed the father of her children in the left upper chest during an argument on September 24, 2024. The incident took place outside the victim’s residence in Dupree, South Dakota, which is located within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation.
The prosecution of this case fell under federal jurisdiction because the Major Crimes Act requires that certain violent crimes occurring in Indian Country be handled in federal court rather than state court.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case.
Following sentencing, Blue Coat was remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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