MISSOULA -Prosecutors and the defense in the case of a Missoula man who’s charged with killing two people earlier have reached a plea deal.
Augustus Standingrock pleaded guilty Friday morning to a charge of deliberate homicide and a count of accountability to deliberate homicide.
The plea agreement calls for Standingrock to serve a life sentence in prison and means the trial set for Jan. 4 in Missoula County has been vacated.
The plea deal transpired at a status conference hearing before Missoula District Court Judge James Wheelis.
Standingrock, 27, and co-defendant Tiffany Pierce were charged with double homicide in the gruesome deaths of Jackson Wiles, 24 and Marilyn Pickett, 15.
During his Friday court appearance, Standingrock admitted to killing Wiles and then handing the knife to Pierce knowing that she would stab Pickett. The plea deal was sealed by Judge Wheelis.
A police investigation showed that the victims were stabbed to death in a Strand Avenue home before their bodies had been placed into plastic tubs filled with chemicals.
Their bodies were found on Aug. 17, 2017, when police arrived at the home with a search warrant in connection with a reported “home invasion burglary/stabbing” that occurred on July 23.
Standingrock is scheduled to be sentenced in the case May 3.
Reporting by Connor McCauley, Melissa Rafferty and Mark Thorsell, MTN News
