Man whose life sentence was commuted by Kristi Noem faces charges in teen's death

McKenna Wendel was found dead days after being reported missing.

A man whose life sentence for manslaughter was commuted by then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been charged in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl, in what authorities called a "horrific" case.

McKenna Wendel was reported missing in mid-March and found dead in a rural area near Brookings, South Dakota, following a dayslong search, according to Sioux Falls police.

Following a monthslong investigation, her relative, 51-year-old Mark Milk, faces federal charges alleging he transported a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, possessed cocaine that led to McKenna's death and then conspired with another man to destroy evidence, according to the indictment.

The other defendant, 38-year-old Jon Rogness of Brookings, is also accused of acting as an accessory to help Milk avoid prosecution, according to the indictment.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa. Prosecutors did not go into detail regarding the case, including where the alleged acts took place or the connection between the two defendants.

"The Department of Justice policy is to pursue the most serious, readily provable charges, and the charges that are alleged in the indictment all occurred within the Northern District of Iowa," Iowa U.S. Attorney Leif Olson said during a press briefing Thursday when asked how the jurisdiction was decided in the case.

The U.S. attorney's office would not confirm Milk's relationship to McKenna. Sioux Falls police have previously said Milk is a family member of McKenna's. A 2018 article in the Argus Leader featuring the family noted that Milk is McKenna's uncle and featured a photo of the two together at an event for inmates and their families.

According to the indictment, the teen died from a drug overdose on or about March 14. She was last seen on March 13 and her grandparents reported her missing two days later, according to Sioux Falls police. Her body was found on March 19, with someone with knowledge of her location leading authorities there, Sioux Falls police previously said.

Olson did not confirm whether her death occurred in Iowa, saying that the charge alleges that either the distribution of cocaine or the death took place in Iowa.

"The charge itself is not meant to imply which of those took place here," he said. "That's something that will be proven at trial."

Multiple agencies in Iowa and South Dakota were involved in the investigation, including at the local, state and federal level.

"This is a horrific case," Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Field Office Gene Kowel, whose office covers Iowa, said in a press briefing on Thursday announcing the charges. "There are no cases that we investigate that are more heart-wrenching, more tragic than ones that involve children or the death of a child."

Kowel noted that a disproportionate number of victims are in indigenous communities. McKenna's family are members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Her obituary noted that she and her grandparents, who raised her, often attended powwows together and that she "loved the singing and the beautiful sounds of the drums."

"Our hearts go out to the victim's family in this case, to McKenna's family," Kowel said. "From what I've heard, I know that her life, although far too short here on Earth, will have a profound impact on everybody who knew her."

Both men charged in the case are in state custody, authorities said. Their initial court appearance has not yet been scheduled. Online court records do not list any attorney information for them.

Milk has been in custody since March 17, when he was arrested for drunk driving and aggravated eluding charges.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for manslaughter, after fatally stabbing a man during a fight. The state's Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended in 2022 that the governor commute his life sentence. Noem, while she was governor at the time, commuted his life sentence to 240 years in 2023, making him eligible for parole. McKenna was listed among the guests for his parole hearing in June 2024.

Milk's name has been raised throughout the investigation into McKenna's death. During a news conference in late March following the discovery of her body, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley was asked about Noem's decision to commute Milk's life sentence.

"I wasn't attorney general at the time that this commutation process went, but I went through the process," he said. "Law enforcement provided the reports that indicate what had occurred back with the initial manslaughter, and then at that point, under the constitution, it's a determination of the governor to make a commutation or parole decision."

He said at the time that he hasn't been able to view the full commutation file because it is under seal.

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