MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that BILLIE RENEE VANN, 41, of Welling, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of Murder in Indian Country –Second Degree, one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country, and one count of Use, Carry, and Brandish of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

The jury trial began with testimony on August 4, 2026, and concluded on August 6, 2026, with the guilty verdicts.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that on September 5, 2022, Vann:

  • failed to shield her son, then a teenager and minor in her care, from exposure to illegal activity while charged with the duty of his care and welfare;
  • aided and abetted her teenage son to commit murder; and
  • armed herself with a handgun and purposefully brandished it during the commission of the murder.

On July 1, 2026, Vann’s co-defendants each pleaded guilty in federal district court to charges relating to the shooting.  Jermyn Damon Vann Jr., 21, of Welling, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily Harm in Indian Country, and one count of Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).  Jermyn Damon Vann Sr., 41, of Welling, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country.

The crimes occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The guilty verdicts were the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Tahlequah Police Department, and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Senior Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report.  Sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report.

The defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals until sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Dean Burris and Olivia Staubus represented the United States.