A man already serving time for drug crimes pleaded not guilty to the murders of two women on the Crow Reservation in Montana.

Eugene Rising Sun, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder for the beating deaths of LaFonda Big Leggins, 23, and Koren Nola Diebert, 26. The women were last seen with Rising Sun and his brothers in November 2003. Their frozen bodies were later found in a ditch on Thanksgiving Day.

The Crow Tribe and members of the tribe criticized the handling of the case, saying no one had been brought to justice. Federal prosecutors had charged Moses Kalani Rising Sun with lying to investigators, a crime to which he recently pleaded guilty.

Eugene Rising Sun is currently serving a 71-month federal sentence in a drug case.

Get the Story:
Crow Agency man pleads not guilty to murder counts (The Billings Gazette 2/2)

Relevant Documents:
Crow Tribe Letter | U.S. Attorney's Response

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Crow Tribe blames unsolved murders on racism (11/23)
Charges pending for murders on Crow Reservation (06/25)
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Two women beaten to death on Crow Reservation (12/01)