Billy Jack Waitman, 39, of Dibble was recently sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison for committing an assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.

That’s the word from U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

In December 2023 a federal grand jury returned a two-count Indictment against Waitman, charging him with attempting to commit murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to public record, in the months leading up to July 2023, Waitman lived with his mother.

At the time she was a terminally ill, bedridden hospice patient.

Family members told law enforcement Waitman was growing hostile toward his mother and made several threatening remarks, including that he intended to kill her.

That remark was heard by a family member, who called authorities and had Waitman placed into custody. He was released four days later.

In July 2023, another family member of Waitman’s came to the defendant’s home and found Waitman on top of the victim with his hands on her.

The family member restrained Waitman, and he was arrested shortly after. A further evaluation of the victim showed that Waitman had brutally assaulted the victim.

She was taken to a nearby hospital. The victim was released to a nursing home and died three days later of what was determined to be natural causes.

Waitman pleaded guilty in April to Count 2 of the indictment, and admitted he assaulted the victim in Indian country, and the victim sustained serious bodily injuries that involved extreme physical pain.

This case was in federal court because Waitman is a member of the Choctaw Nation and the crime was committed within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation.

At the sentencing hearing on October 29, U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones sentenced Waitman to serve 120 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

In announcing the sentence, the court noted there was an “avalanche of evidence” showing defendant intended to harm his mother because he considered her a burden.

The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Division and the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department, in collaboration with the Chickasaw Nation Office of Tribal Justice.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark R. Stoneman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaleigh Blackwell prosecuted the case.