Tevin Terrell Semien, a 30-year-old resident of Lawton, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm following a previous felony conviction. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
The case began on May 17, 2023, when Karon "Dinkers" Conneywerdy Smith, aged 68, was found dead in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. An investigation revealed signs of a violent struggle at Smith's home in Indian Country and her vehicle missing. On May 21, Texas law enforcement spotted the vehicle south of Dallas but it fled from officers before crashing into a lake. The occupants, identified as Semien and Nicole Leigh Logsdon, were apprehended after attempting to escape on foot.
On October 17, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Semien and his co-defendant Logsdon on multiple charges including first-degree premeditated murder for Semien and accessory after the fact to murder for Logsdon. Semien pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm on April 22, 2024.
Logsdon admitted to assisting Semien in evading arrest and prosecution during her plea hearing on January 10, 2024. She was sentenced to serve eight years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot handed down Semien's life sentence on February 3, noting the "unfathomably cruel and depraved" nature of the crime along with Semien’s prior criminal history involving burglary convictions.
The case falls under federal jurisdiction as both Smith and Logsdon are members of the Comanche Nation and the crime took place within Indian Country.
This investigation involved several agencies including FBI offices from Oklahoma City, Dallas, New Orleans; Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Comanche Nation Police Department; Comanche County Sheriff’s Office; Lawton Police Department; U.S. Marshals Service; Rice Police Department in Texas; Navarro County Sheriff’s Office among others.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaleigh Blackwell alongside Trial Attorney Mark Stoneman prosecuted this case which supports the Department of Justice’s initiative addressing violence against Native Americans through its Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons efforts.
Further details can be obtained from public records related to this case.