SEVEN YEARS LATER: TWO SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS FOR THE MURDER OF ALIZE MILLARD

A case that remained unsolved for nearly five years has finally reached a major legal conclusion.

Dillion Millard, 27, and Charmaine Medicine, 31, have each been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the 2019 murder of 15-year-old Alize Millard on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Both will also serve five years of supervised release.

 THE NIGHT ALIZE NEVER CAME HOME

According to federal prosecutors, Millard and Medicine picked up Alize during the early morning hours of July 9, 2019, telling him they were going to drink alcohol together.

The three went to a nearby park before walking into a secluded area.

Prosecutors said Alize became intoxicated before Millard attacked him.

Authorities said Millard strangled the teenager, dragged him to a tree and used a belt to tie him to a branch.

The two then left the area.

THEY RETURNED HOURS LATER

Investigators say Millard and Medicine returned to the scene several hours later.

According to prosecutors, they poured oil over Alize’s body and set it on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Hikers discovered his remains the following afternoon.

The case would remain unresolved for years.

THE BREAKTHROUGH CAME FIVE YEARS LATER

For almost five years, investigators continued searching for answers.

Then, in May 2024, Millard confessed to his involvement, according to federal prosecutors.

A federal grand jury indicted Millard and Medicine the following month.

Millard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August 2025, while Medicine entered the same plea in May 2026. 30 YEARS EACH

On August 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte sentenced both defendants to 30 years in federal prison.

They were also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Following sentencing, both were taken into federal custody.

The prosecution was handled federally because the killing occurred in Indian Country and fell under the Major Crimes Act. The investigation involved the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, FBI and ATF.

A FAMILY WAITED SEVEN YEARS

For Alize’s family, the sentences cannot undo the loss.

His mother, Jamie Millard, said she wants her son to be remembered for his “beautiful smile.”

His grandmother, Mary Gibbs, described the years without answers as extremely difficult and said she would never forgive Dillion for what he took from their family.

U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons said he was deeply saddened by the cruelty of the crime but relieved that Alize’s family could finally have answers and “a measure of justice.” SEVEN YEARS OF QUESTIONS. ONE CONFESSION. TWO 30-YEAR SENTENCES.

Alize was only 15 years old when he went out that summer night.

His family spent years wondering what had happened to him.

Now, the people who pleaded guilty to his murder are beginning decades-long federal prison sentences.

But for those who loved Alize, the most important part of his story is not how he was killed.

It is how he should be remembered:

as a 15-year-old boy whose family still remembers his smile.