Eagle Butte Woman Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison for Voluntary Manslaughter

PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a woman from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, who was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter. The sentencing took place on August 11, 2025.

Jaclyn Blue Coat, age 26, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Blue Coat was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2024. She pleaded guilty on May 15, 2025.

On September 24, 2024, Blue Coat stabbed the father of her children with a knife in the left upper chest, causing his death. The incident occurred during an argument on the deck outside the victim's residence in Dupree, South Dakota, within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case.

Blue Coat was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.