Fort Totten, ND, Man Pleads Guilty to Assaults and Voluntary Manslaughter

Fargo - United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced today that, Kolby Jae McKay, also known as Kolby Woods, age 33, from Fort Totten, North Dakota, appeared in United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. and pled guilty before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte to charges of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangulation, and Voluntary Manslaughter. McKay is detained pending sentencing, set for July 22, 2026.

McKay's guilty pleas were entered in two separate cases. McKay pled guilty to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangulation related to an incident on March 13, 2024. McKay became upset with a woman, identified in the case as "Jane Doe," with whom he was in a dating relationship. McKay grabbed a knife and held it to Jane Doe's neck. Jane Doe pushed the knife away and McKay strangled Jane Doe by placing his hands tightly around Jane Doe's neck until she almost lost consciousness.

McKay also pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter as a result of an incident a few weeks later. McKay killed Monte Ray Herman Sr. on April 3, 2024.

Both incidents occurred on the Spirit Lake Reservation.

McKay fled after killing Herman and was at large for several days, prompting the Spirit Lake Tribal Council to issue a community curfew and offer a reward for information leading to McKay's whereabouts.

This case was investigated the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Benson and Eddy County Sheriff's Department, North Dakota Highway Patrol, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Lake Region Narcotics Task Force, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Samantha Schmidt and Lori Conroy.

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