Two Commerce residents charged with unlawfully killing a minor child

Two residents of Commerce were charged with violations of federal law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Daniel Allen Ash, 32 and Amber Dawn Murphy, 30, a member of the Cherokee Nation, are charged with unlawfully killing a minor child in Sep. 2024 and willfully neglecting the health, safety, and welfare of four minor children.

Formal charges include:

* Second Degree Murder in Indian Country (Count 1);
* Child Neglect in Indian Country (Counts 2 through 5);
* Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under 12 Years of Age in Indian Country; (Count 6);
* Second Degree Murder in Indian Country (Count 7);
* Child Neglect in Indian Country (Counts 8 through 11).

Ash is further charged with engaging in a sexual act with a minor child under 12 years old.

The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.w

The FBI and Quapaw Nation Marshal Service are the investigative agencies.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Hockenbury is prosecuting the case.