A Western North Carolina man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty in the cold case murder of his wife.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says that in 2013 the body of Marie Walkingstick Pheasant was found inside a burning car in Swain County.
The car was found within the boundary of the reservation making it a federal crime. The victim and her husband Ernest Pheasant are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Autopsy reports show that the victim was stabbed multiple times prior to being put in a burning car. The case went cold until 2022 when DNA evidence linked Ernest Pheasant to the scene of the crime.
He has pleaded guilty to 1st degree murder and has been sentenced to life in federal prison. There is no early release in the federal system.
