Fort Totten, ND, Man Sentenced to Serve 15 Years for Assaults and Voluntary Manslaughter

FARGO - United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced today that Kolby Jae McKay, also known as Kolby Woods, age 34, from Fort Totten, North Dakota, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte, to serve 15 years in federal prison. McKay previously pleaded guilty to charges of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangulation, and Voluntary Manslaughter.

McKay's guilty pleas were entered on April 2, 2026, in two separate cases. McKay pleaded 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 pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter as a result of an incident a few weeks after the domestic assault. McKay killed Monte Ray Herman Sr. on April 3, 2024, following a physical fight during which McKay placed his forearm around the neck of Herman.

Both incidents occurred on the Spirit Lake Reservation. According to court documents, 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.

"The Department of Justice is always committed to ensuring violent crimes in Indian country are investigated thoroughly and prosecuted aggressively," said United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase. "The career prosecutors in this office have worked with our law enforcement partners to increase prosecution of domestic violence involving nonfatal strangulation. This is because strangulation is an undeniable predictor of future lethal violence. Statistical evidence shows attackers who strangle are 75 percent more likely to kill. The more times an attacker strangles, the more likely the attacker is to kill the victim. Our office remains committed to working with our Tribal, federal, and local law enforcement partners to hold offenders accountable, protect victims, and make Tribal communities safer."

"The scope of this defendant's violent conduct is appalling," said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson. "After engaging in an extremely serious episode of domestic violence, Kolby McKay killed a man in response to an argument. Today's significant sentence is a reflection of the FBI's continuing commitment to enhancing public safety on tribal lands. The people of Spirit Lake are safer today because of the work done by this investigative team. It is this team's hope that today's sentence offers a sense of justice and closure to the surviving victim and the families of both victims."

This case was investigated the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Benson, Eddy, Ramsey and Nelson County Sheriff's Departments, 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 Dahl and Lori Conroy.

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