Jimi Jo Collins, 27, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for second-degree murder after setting a house fire that resulted in the deaths of two occupants. U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte handed down the sentence on June 22, 2026, which also includes three years of supervised release, restitution, and a $100 special assessment.
Collins pleaded guilty on March 30, 2026, following an indictment by a federal grand jury in June 2025. The conviction stems from an incident on March 2, 2025, within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, where Collins intentionally set fire to a residence occupied by multiple people. While several individuals managed to escape, two victims were unable to exit and died in the blaze.
U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons condemned the act, stating, "This woman is an arsonist and a murderer. She intentionally set fire to a mobile home, with people asleep inside, because she thought someone had broken her car window." Parsons added, "The result of that malevolent act is that two people were burned alive. The horror and tragic pointlessness of it all is unimaginable."
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute mandating that certain violent crimes occurring in Indian country be tried in federal court. The investigation involved the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.