Kirk Douglas Billie

Case overview

Kirk Douglas Billie was sentenced to life in prison for the drowning death of his sons, five-year-old Kurt and three-year-old Keith, in 1997. His case involved a legal battle over tribal sovereignty between the Miccosukee Tribe and Florida authorities over whether the matter fell within Florida jurisdiction. The Miccosukee Tribe treated the incident as an accident and stated it had forgiven Billie.

Timeline

• 1994 — The tribal Child Protection Team intervened and placed the children under the care of Tiger's mother, Marie Jim.
• June 26, 1997 — Billie left a note for Sheila Tiger that said, "Don't think the kids will ever stop me."
• June 27, 1997 — Billie was the day after the drownings; he faced police questioning and later said he thought police were using questions about his children's whereabouts to trick him into telling where the SUV was and he refused to cooperate. A motion to suppress involved his police statement obtained by Miami-Dade Police on this date.
• February 18, 2001 — Billie received his life sentence following conviction for second-degree murder in the deaths of Kurt and Keith.
• February 17, 2001 — Billie was sentenced to life in prison.

The offence

Billie drove his ex-girlfriend's truck into a canal in the Everglades near the Miccosukee reservation in Florida in 1997 while their sons were in the back seat. The sons were asleep in the back of the truck as it rolled and sank into the water. Divers later found the bodies of Kurt and Keith floating inside the vehicle and were unable to resuscitate them.

Billie claimed he did not know the two boys were in the back of the truck at the time it plunged into the water. He later cooperated fully with police after being told that his children were indeed in the truck.

Investigation

Police questioned Billie about the whereabouts of the truck and his children. Billie refused to cooperate, saying he thought the police were using the questions about his children's whereabouts to trick him into telling where the SUV was. There was also a moment on video tape of the holding cell when Billie was told by his father that the children were indeed in the truck; Billie reacted by covering his face, pacing, and then falling to his knees.

Billie later learned the children were in the truck, and after learning it he cooperated fully with the police.

Arrest and custody

Billie was taken into custody by police after the incident. He had been held without bail since 1997.

Trial

Billie was convicted in February of second-degree murder in the deaths of Kurt and Keith. The case also involved courtroom disputes over evidence and tribal sovereignty.

Tribal sovereignty disputes and jurisdictional roadblocks

The Miccosukee Tribe and Florida authorities disagreed over whether state prosecution could proceed. The tribe asserted that it alone had jurisdiction in the case and that its Tribal Court had decided to forgive Billie.

Florida authorities said a jury should decide Billie's fate and that after two trials he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The trial process was affected by the tribe's efforts to block subpoenas and participation by tribal witnesses and officers.

The Miccosukee Tribe obtained court orders preventing prosecutors from entering tribal land to serve witness subpoenas. The tribe also sought to prevent prosecutors from using Miccosukee Police Department reports, claiming the department and its records were protected by sovereignty. Prosecutors said the tribe forbade officers from cooperating with the state's investigation and fired employees who did so.

The disputes included efforts to subpoena Miccosukee Police Department officers, including the original investigator, James Fierro. In court papers, Assistant State Attorney Reid Rubin argued that sovereign immunity could not prevent prosecution in hypothetical situations and accused the tribe of obstructing the state's case by denying access to key witnesses and three tribal police officers. The tribe's attorney, Dexter Lehtinen, did not return calls seeking comment, and Billie's attorneys said they did not rely on tribal sovereign immunity as a defense but instead sought suppression of Billie’s statement and other evidence on constitutional grounds related to how it was obtained.

Domestic-violence evidence dispute

A previous conviction for the murders was overturned when a judge ruled that evidence of domestic violence against previous girlfriends should not have been admitted. That ruling led to later trials that culminated in the second-degree murder conviction.

Sentencing

Billie was sentenced to life in prison on February 17, 2001. He was convicted earlier in February of second-degree murder in the deaths of Kurt, 5, and Keith, 3.

Outcome

Billie remained convicted of second-degree murder for the drowning deaths of his two sons and received a life sentence.

Other details

Victims

• Kurt, 5-year-old son of Billie
• Keith, 3-year-old son of Billie

People mentioned in connection with the incident and legal disputes

• Sheila Tiger — Billie’s ex-girlfriend and mother of Kurt and Keith; she had told prosecutors she did not want to testify against Billie. She had given contradictory statements about whether Billie knew the sons were in the back of her Chevrolet Tahoe when he drove it into the Tamiami Canal.
• Melody Osceola — Sheila Tiger’s 15-year-old friend who had been instructed by Tiger to leave and to drive around with the kids until Tiger returned to pick her up.
• Marie Jim — Marie Jim received the children under the care after 1994 intervention by the tribal Child Protection Team.
• Max Billie — tribal chairman who said the incident was deemed an accident and that Billie was forgiven.
• Billie Cypress — tribal chairman who wrote a letter in August stating the tribe clans met three weeks after the incident and “shook hands and determined that forgiveness was appropriate.” He also made statements including:
  • "The public should be outraged by the government's attempt to bully the Miccosukee Tribe."
  • "The government tried to use the same tactic it used with Elián González, and it did not work."
• Reid Rubin — lead prosecutor on the case; he said, "This is for a jury to decide."
• Bruce Rogow — attorney who said, "They are, to some extent, a separate nation within our own nation, but I wouldn't agree they are above the law,"
• Leon Firtel — circuit judge referenced in connection with Billie's proceedings and willingness to decide on subpoena-related issues.
• Paul Huck — U.S. District Judge who found that sovereign immunity blocked federal marshals from issuing witness subpoenas to Miccosukee Indians who saw Billie.
• Kathryn Fernandez Rundle — State Attorney referenced in Billie Cypress’s August letter.
• Dexter Lehtinen — tribe attorney referenced in connection with disputes and arguments.
• Edward O'Donnell — one of Billie's lawyers; he said, "There are any number of options open to the state, and they're aware of them."
• Diane Ward — Billie's attorney referenced in arguments for bail.
• Christine Zahralban — assistant state attorney who said: "I'm not sure that a lot of times prosecutors don't get frustrated and just don't push it," and "because two babies are dead."
• Frank Tamen — Assistant U.S. Attorney referenced as saying: "They are making rather sweeping assertions of sovereignty," and "All they need to do next is say they are seceding from the U.S. and are setting up Customs and Border Patrol." He also said: "Our position is that there is sufficient federal interest in seeing this case prosecuted. We believe marshals do have authority to serve state trial subpoenas."
• James Fierro — original investigator referenced in connection with efforts to subpoena tribal police officers.
• Juan Vargas — another tribe lawyer who said: "The tribe's position is to decline any interviews at this time."
• Tom Fucci — former lieutenant with the Miccosukee Police Department; he stated, "I was subsequently fired the next day," and testified that many cases "ended up in tribal court and nothing happened," and that many such cases should probably be handled by state or federal authorities.
• Christine Zahralban — assistant state attorney referenced above in her remarks.
• Tammy Gwen Billie — cousin of Max Billie and referenced in connection with other jurisdiction issues; she was arrested by Miccosukee Police after a driving-related offense and charged with DUI manslaughter on the Tamiami Trail, later released; she had testified that a crash was an accident.
• Sanford Blake — Miami-Dade Circuit Judge referenced as rejecting the state prosecutors' request to revoke bond of Tammy Gwen Billie.

Billie's prior and ongoing conduct described in relation to the case

The case included descriptions of Billie as having a violent past involving abuse against women and children, including violence against Sheila Tiger and violence against Marie Jim that caused Jim’s nose to break in three places after 1994 intervention.

After the 1994 intervention, the relationship between Billie and Tiger continued to be described as volatile, with arguments escalating to violence, including an occasion where Billie beat Tiger so severely with a broomstick that it broke into pieces.

The case also described that Billie repeatedly exposed his children to his fits of violent anger and abuse when they witnessed him beating their mothers.

Events surrounding the drowning

Billie called Tiger several times asking that she bring over his sons. Tiger left the children with her 15-year-old friend, Melody Osceola, while she went to visit her boyfriend. Billie spent the night drinking with friends at a bowling alley.

After a short nap at a friends house, Billie decided to drive around to see who was hanging out after a "Corn Dance" celebration. He spotted what he thought was Tiger driving her SUV into her driveway. Billie walked over to her SUV. When Osceola got out of the truck carrying Billie’s youngest son, Kirkland, Billie jumped into Tiger’s SUV and drove off. He pulled up to a bank on the canal, got out, and watched as the SUV slipped into the water.

Osceola alerted Tiger to Billie’s actions. When Tiger was unable to locate him, she called the police. The next morning, Billie led police to the Tahoe, claiming he did not know his sons were in the back.

Note left for Tiger

On June 26, 1997, prosecutors said Billie left Tiger a note that said: "Don't think the kids will ever stop me."