The sentences followed guilty pleas and a confession that broke open the nearly five-year investigation into Alize Millard’s death.
PIERRE, S.D. — A federal judge sentenced Dillion Millard and Charmaine Medicine to 30 years in prison each for the 2019 second-degree murder of 15-year-old Alize Millard on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, bringing a yearslong investigation and prosecution to a close.
U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte imposed the sentences Aug. 10 on Millard, 27, of Rosebud, and Medicine, 31, of Parmelee. Each defendant also received five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Millard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Aug. 13, 2025, while Medicine entered the same plea May 12, 2026. A federal grand jury had indicted both defendants in June 2024.
Federal prosecutors said the killing occurred during the early morning hours of July 9, 2019, in Todd County on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. Millard and Medicine picked up the 15-year-old from his residence and told him they were going to drink alcohol together, authorities said. They drove to a nearby park and walked to a secluded area, where the teenager became intoxicated.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota, Millard then strangled the teenager. After the victim stopped struggling, prosecutors said Millard moved his body to a nearby tree and secured him to a branch with a belt. Millard and Medicine left the area but returned several hours later. Authorities said they then used fire in an effort to destroy evidence. Hikers discovered the teenager’s body the afternoon of July 10.
The victim was publicly identified by his family and local news organizations as Alize Millard. Local reporting identified Dillion Millard as Alize’s cousin and said Alize, who lived in Gregory, was spending the summer with his grandparents in the Grass Mountain area of the reservation. His family described him as a helpful teenager who enjoyed reading to younger children and helping relatives.
Federal prosecutors said the investigation remained active for years before a major break in May 2024, when Millard confessed to his actions and Medicine’s involvement. The confession was followed by the federal indictments the next month. Local reporting said investigators had continued working the case after Alize’s death while his family waited for answers about what had happened.
Court documents reported by KELO provided additional information about what authorities said led to the killing. According to those reports, Millard believed Alize was romantically interested in Medicine, who was Millard’s girlfriend at the time. Medicine was also concerned that Alize might give police information connected to a separate criminal matter. The accounts were contained in factual statements connected to the defendants’ guilty pleas rather than findings reached after a trial.
Alize’s relatives expressed disappointment with the length of the prison terms after the sentencing. His mother, Jamie Millard, said she believed the defendants should have received life sentences and said she wanted her son remembered for his “beautiful smile.” His grandmother, Mary Gibbs, spoke about the difficulty of waiting years for the case to be resolved and the lasting effect his death had on the family.
KELO reported that Schulte described the case at sentencing as exceptionally disturbing. The station reported that the advisory sentencing range was 18 to 22 years after factors in the defendants’ cases were considered, but Schulte imposed 30-year terms. The judge also recommended that the federal Bureau of Prisons consider facilities able to address the defendants’ mental health needs.
U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons said the crime left him “saddened and disheartened” but said he was relieved that Alize’s family had received answers and a measure of justice. The case was prosecuted in federal court under the Major Crimes Act, which gives federal authorities responsibility for certain serious crimes committed in Indian Country. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
Millard and Medicine were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after their sentencing hearings. Each is set to serve five years of federal supervised release after completing the 30-year prison term, closing the federal prosecution more than seven years after Alize was killed.
Author note: Last updated August 23, 2026.