Oklahoma state charges against dad accused of killing kids in hot truck dropped but federal prosecution awaits
TULSA, OKLAHOMA: The murder charges against an Oklahoma father who was accused of leaving his two young children to die in his hot truck have been dismissed because of a recent landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that Dustin Lee Dennis, 31, had been jailed after the bodies of his two children, 4-year-old Teagan and her younger brother 3-year-old Ryan, were found in the footwell of his truck last month.
On June 13, a day that temperatures reached 90 degrees, Dennis told authorities he had driven to QuikTrip along with Teagan and Ryan and then returned home before falling asleep for four to five hours. He claimed he woke up and realized his children were missing, and then found them unconscious inside his truck. He said he took them to the living room and called paramedics, but life-saving measures proved ineffective. They were declared dead the same day.
Dennis was released from jail two days later, on June 15, after surveillance video from a neighbor's home showed Teagan and Ryan get into the car on their own and failing to then come out. The Tulsa District Attorney said the release came after the evidence had been shown to a judge, who ruled the 31-year-old could be freed on a personal recognizance bond.
The case appeared to be moving forward last week when Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler announced he would be charging Dennis with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of child neglect in the deaths of his children. However, he has now confirmed that those charges have been dropped.
Explaining his decision, Kunzweiler said he had to dismiss state charges against the 31-year-old because the case was no longer in his jurisdiction as the children were Cherokee citizens.
"This morning the question came up as to whether or not the children were members of the Cherokee tribe," he told People. "Their mother [Cheyenne Trent] confirmed and showed me verification, including a tribal membership card, for not only herself but her oldest child, and her youngest child was in the process of obtaining one for herself. So based on that I found that the state did not have jurisdiction of the case."
On July 9, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that about half of the land in Oklahoma, including Tulsa, is within a Native American reservation. Experts said the ruling would have significant legal implications, pointing out how certain major crimes committed within the boundaries of reservations would have to be prosecuted in federal court rather than state court if a Native American is involved.
That prediction has already come to pass in Dennis' case, with federal authorities tasked with prosecuting the father. Kunzweiler insisted that, at the end of the day, the only thing mattered was how the childrens' mother was dealing with the trauma.
"My concerns lie with the mother of the victims," he said. "In my conversation with her, it was obvious that she has been really traumatized by the loss of her children and I cannot imagine the difficulties that she’s had, to not only process that but to try and understand the nuances associated with jurisdictional issues."
"All [Cheyenne Trent] knows is her children are dead and she’s trying to find justice for them," he continued. "And we are trying to do everything we can to help her along that difficult path that she’s on."