What McGirt ruling means for justice in Britney Tiger case

(ADA, Okla.) Britney Tiger went missing on February 11, 2018.

Her body was found more than a month later, about 200 yards behind a fence in a field on County Road 3680 just a mile south of the Kullihoma Stomp grounds in Pontotoc County.

VNN has done two in-depth stories on Tiger’s case. 

Watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/1fpBfOP6K4I

Watch Part 2 here: https://youtu.be/uEjhQdfRRko 

Through our investigations, we discovered it was clear Tiger did not find her way to that field on her own. But no one was arrested for her death. 

In September 2019, the OSBI offered a $10,000 reward for information in her case.

A break would not come until the following February. 

Bodhi Chance Starns of Ada was charged with unlawful disposal of a deceased corpse in March 2020. 

That July, the Supreme Court ruled in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the state has no legal jurisdiction over crimes involving American Indians on tribal lands because their reservations had never been disestablished by Congress.

Five days later, Starns was charged with possession of contraband in the Pontotoc County Justice Center after being found with a shank. 

His case relating to Tiger was dismissed in November 2020 for “lack of subject matter jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in 'Indian Country'" citing the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling.

In January of this year, Starns received 20 years in prison with all but 10 suspended and some time served for the shank. 

District Attorney Paul Smith told us he is optimistic federal authorities will pick up the Abuse of Corpse charge to get justice for Tiger.