Pheasant sentenced to life in prison for murder
Ernest D. Pheasant, Sr.
File photo
Ernest D. Pheasant, Sr., has received a sentence of life in prison for the murder of his ex-wife, Marie Walkingstick Pheasant.
In 2013, Marie’s body was found in a vehicle that investigators later determined was intentionally set on fire. An autopsy revealed that she died from stab wounds to the neck and abdomen.
DNA retrieved from a baseball cap found near the vehicle was linked to Ernest.
During the investigation, law enforcement determined that Ernest had killed Marie at their home, then transferred her body to the car, drove it to Big Cove Road and set it on fire.
Prior reporting from The Smoky Mountain News noted that Pheasant also made efforts to cover up his wrongdoing. In a conversation at the Pizza Inn in Cherokee on Dec. 30, 2013, about two days after the murder, he allegedly approached another person to establish an alibi to account for the timeframe during which Marie was murdered.
Marie was a mother of two, and a “quiet, sweet, loving girl” whose death devastated the family, her aunt Diane Wolfe told SMN in a 2022 interview.
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“Ten years ago, our community was shaken by her tragic death, with her family and friends left with questions unanswered,” Principal Chief Michell Hicks said in a Facebook post the day of Ernest’s arrest. “It is our sincerest hope that this development will help give her family closure and bring justice for Marie.”
Her death shook friends, family and neighbors and echoed a larger issue that continues to plague Native American communities. According to a 2016 National Institute of Justice Research Report, more than four in five Native American women have experienced violence in their lifetime, over half have experienced sexual violence and the majority have been victims of physical violence at the hands of intimate partners. Native women are 1.7 times more likely than white women to have experienced violence in the past year. In some counties, they face murder rates more than 10 times the national average.
“We must continue to amplify the stories of Indigenous women and girls who are impacted by violence and honor their memory and legacy, and we must continue to stand in solidarity and take action to end the violence against Indigenous women and girls,” Hicks said in his post.
Ernest, a 47-year-old former Swain County resident and enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was arrested in November 2023 and charged with numerous felonies tied to Marie’s killing, including first-degree murder, tampering with witnesses, domestic violence and tampering with evidence, all felonies. He was also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
He pleaded guilty to the murder in August of last year.
The news of the sentencing came via a press release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson.
“For over a decade, Marie’s family has endured the pain of losing their loved one without justice. Today, that changed,” Ferguson said. “Ernest Pheasant will pay for his heinous crime by spending the rest of his life behind bars. While nothing can undo the family’s loss, I hope this sentence brings them a measure of justice. My Office remains committed to pursuing cases involving missing or murdered indigenous persons no matter how much time has passed.”
“While nothing can undo the pain caused by this tragic crime, we hope that this sentence helps to provide closure to the family and friends of Marie Walkingstick Pheasant,” said Marcelino Toersbijns, Chief of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU). “This case is emblematic of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Crisis impacting tribal communities across the country and highlights the importance of the MMU’s mission of analyzing and solving missing, murdered and human trafficking cases involving American Indians and Alaska Natives.”
