3 sentenced in NC in stabbing, beating death

BRYSON CITY, N.C. (AP) – Three members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians have been sentenced to prison for the stabbing and beating death of another tribe member in North Carolina.

The U.S. Attorney’s office announced Monday that 21-year-old Danielle Victoria Bigwitch and 30-year-old Dwayne Mitchell Littlejohn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Also, 35-year-old Daniel Lee Reed pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Danny Jackson in November 2008 on the Cherokee reservation.

Bigwitch was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Littlejohn was sentenced to 17 years and Reed received a 6 1/2-year sentence. All three also were ordered to pay restitution to the victim’s estate.

Authorities said Jackson was stabbed in the heart and hit over the head with a baseball bat.