Fort Yates Man Says He Will Plead Guilty in 2014 Standing Rock Killing

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man says he will plead guilty to killing a woman on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Thirty-year-old Lance Summers, of Fort Yates, is charged with murder in the slaying of 38-year-old Natalie White Lightening of Cannon Ball. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Authorities say Fort Yates police received a call on the night of March 18, 2014, from someone who said there was an unresponsive woman lying in a field. Police searched the field in darkness and were unable to find anyone.

White Lightening's body was discovered more than a month later by people walking through the heavily vegetated area on the reservation, which straddles the North Dakota and South Dakota border.

A change of plea hearing is scheduled Wednesday morning in Bismarck.

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