Andrew Yellowbear

Case overview

Andrew John Yellowbear Jr. (born September 5, 1974) was the defendant in a Wyoming capital murder trial. He was convicted in April 2006 in Thermopolis, Wyoming, of premeditated first-degree murder in the death of his 22-month-old daughter, Marcela Hope Yellowbear. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The offence

Authorities said Marcella Hope Yellowbear was tortured to death over a period of several weeks, starting around May 15, 2004, to July 2, 2004.

According to the testimony of Marcella’s mother, Macalia Blackburn (born December 20, 1981), who was sentenced to 60 years in prison for her role as an accessory, Yellowbear beat Marcella daily in the couple’s Riverton, Wyoming, apartment using a variety of objects, including:

• the handle of a claw hammer
• a sports sandal
• a two-by-four
• a plastic stabilizer bar from a child’s swingset

Blackburn said she was too scared of Yellowbear to stop him from hurting Marcella.

Yellowbear had a history of domestic violence against Blackburn, and that fact came out in Yellowbear’s roughly three-week trial. The jury learned of the history only while the jury was absent, because Judge David Park did not want to prejudice the case.

Yellowbear continued to deny hurting Marcella, blaming the abuse on Blackburn.

An affidavit from the Riverton Police Department described Marcella’s injuries as:

"a skull fracture to the back of her head; numerous traumas to her head resulting in blood clotting between her scalp and her skull; a laceration below her chin extending to the underside of her tongue; a broken right arm; third-degree burns to her right hand fingers; large abrasions to her buttocks; a laceration and possible burn to the bottom of her left foot; numerous pinch and nail marks; deep tissue bruises over the course of her body; and distinct dehydration."

Victim and family

Marcella Hope Yellowbear was 22 months old when she died.

Marcella was born Aug. 15, 2002. Twins Consualo and Calista were born Sept. 20, 2003, and Tyrus was born Sept. 1, 2004, about two months after Macalia’s arrest in connection with Marcella’s death.

The trial and family accounts involved multiple children:

• The twins Consualo and Calista were in Ruby Blackburn’s care.
• A fourth child had been placed outside both the Blackburn family and Yellowbear family; the record indicates this child was not accessed by either family.
• Yellowbear had fought from jail to give the fourth child his last name, and a court order last month appeared to grant his request.
• Yellowbear had never seen the 18-month-old named Tyrus Anthony.

Ruby Blackburn was Marcella’s great-grandmother. Martha Kilcrease was Andrew Yellowbear’s sister.

Emily Rose Blackburn was described as Andrew Yellowbear’s mother, buried near Marcella in the Blackburn cemetery. Ruby Blackburn said Emily Rose Blackburn “apparently was adopted into the family at some point.”

Ruby Blackburn said she considered Andrew and Macalia to be cousins, and described discouragement of the pairing:

"When they got together, we kept trying to stop it,"
"We kept trying to split them up."

Lupe Blackburn joined her mother for portions of a conversation, adding a third chair to a small room in their house.

Timeline

• May 15, 2004 — Authorities said torture began, lasting for several weeks.
• July 2, 2004 — Marcella Hope Yellowbear died in Riverton, Wyoming.
• July 3, 2004 — Macalia Blackburn told an investigator she was responsible for Marcella’s injuries; Yellowbear offered a similar version that Marcella died after being suspended in a closet; both stated Andrew Yellowbear was not home at the time.
• July 6, 2004 — Blackburn told police she had been protecting Yellowbear and that he alone was responsible for the girl’s injuries.
• April 2006 — Yellowbear was convicted in Thermopolis, Wyoming, of premeditated first-degree murder.
• June 2006 — Yellowbear was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• 2008 — Yellowbear filed a lawsuit against the Wyoming Department of Corrections claiming his constitutional rights were violated by depriving him of 10 bald eagle feathers for use in religious ceremonies; he later approved a settlement allowing him to get four eagle feathers.
• Late July 2008 — Judge Alan Bond Johnson of the United States District Court for the District of Wyomin approved a settlement allowing Yellowbear to get four eagle feathers.
• 2004 (April) — Yellowbear was ordered to a year of supervised probation.
• March 2002 (March 17, 2002) — Blackburn and Yellowbear were arrested in Casper after police responded to the reported burglary of a television and stereo.
• May 8, 2003 — Another domestic fight was reported.
• June 2, 2004 — A document recorded a report that Macalia Blackburn called saying she was taking care of Marcella in spite of her placement in another home; it said Marcella started living with her mother on May 21.
• Aug. 15, 2002 — Marcella was born.
• Sept. 20, 2003 — Twins Consualo and Calista were born.
• Sept. 1, 2004 — Tyrus was born.

Investigation and evidence

Investigators said Marcella was severely abused and beaten in the days before her death. The back of her skull was fractured, and bruises, cuts and burns marked other parts of her body.

Arrests and prior incidents

On March 17, 2002, Blackburn and Yellowbear were arrested in Casper after police responded to the reported burglary of a television and stereo. The investigation revealed a fight, and Yellowbear was arrested on suspicion of felony assault. Yellowbear told police he became mad when Blackburn—then four months pregnant—wanted him to pawn the stereo she had taken, according to the arrest report. Yellowbear later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of battery in connection with the fight. Blackburn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal entry.

Blackburn and Yellowbear later had Marcella, who was quickly placed under the supervision of the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribal Court.

Another domestic fight was reported May 8, 2003. Blackburn was three months pregnant at the time. She told police that Yellowbear did not believe he was the father of the twins she was carrying and had punched her in the face, arms and stomach “numerous times” since the previous day, according to the investigating officer’s report. Although Yellowbear was first charged with aggravated assault, which was a felony, he later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of battery against a household member. He served 113 days in jail and then was ordered to a year of supervised probation in April 2004. The probation sentence was suspended a couple of months later following Yellowbear’s arrest on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Child custody and tribal supervision

Marcella lived at times with Ruby Blackburn and at times with other relatives. Velma Rhodes, administrator of Northern Arapaho Child Protective Services, said Marcella’s case was closed before she was returned to her parents, and department social workers would not intervene without further allegations of abuse or neglect. Rhodes said:

"If we followed all the cases after they are closed, why, we'd be going bananas over here,"
"I feel that we did what we are supposed to do."

Ruby Blackburn said the authenticity of a document dated June 2, 2004 was confirmed by Rhodes. The document said Macalia Blackburn called to say she was taking care of Marcella in spite of her placement in another home, and that Marcella started living with her mother on May 21. Ruby Blackburn put the date somewhat later, allowing only about a week between the time Marcella returned to her parents and the girl’s death.

People involved in accounts of responsibility

Macalia Blackburn pleaded guilty in March to a charge of being an accessory to second-degree murder and was expected to testify against the man who fathered four of her children.

In July 2004, the accounts changed:

• On July 3, Macalia Blackburn told the investigator she was responsible for Marcella’s injuries.
• On July 3, Yellowbear was interviewed and offered a similar version of events.
• Both said Marcella died after she was suspended in a closet by a strap through her bib overalls, and both said Andrew Yellowbear was not home at the time.
• On July 6, Blackburn told police she had been protecting Yellowbear and that he alone was responsible for the girl’s injuries.

The prosecution argued that Blackburn suffered from the effects of an abusive relationship, and that the altered story made sense as a result. Yellowbear’s attorneys suggested that if such a theory was correct, it could call into question Blackburn’s ability to testify, and that to the extent she suffered abuse and what was called “battered woman syndrome,” she could be an unreliable witness.

Martha Kilcrease defended Yellowbear’s sister’s initial version of events, saying:

"They specifically told them she used a 2-by-4 to beat Marcella in the head,"

and she stated:

"Kilcrease argued simply that Macalia told the truth when she was first interviewed."

Lupe and Ruby Blackburn said they feared some would see Macalia’s plea to a reduced charge as an admission that she alone was responsible. Lupe Blackburn said:

"Everyone is so quick to judge my niece,"
"My niece did everything in her power to make sure her babies had a secure environment."

Trial proceedings and related disputes

Yellowbear’s trial on charges of first-degree felony murder was scheduled to begin Monday in Thermopolis.

Martha Kilcrease spoke about the effect of killings in her family and described a need for justice:

"Everyone we lost, we lost to homicide,"
"They see us as having a lot of anger,"
"We just want justice. Nobody ever gets punished for killing our family."

The families of each parent remained bitterly divided about who was responsible for Marcella’s death, and each side blamed the other. Both sides said the Northern Arapaho social services department that moved Marcella to different homes during her short life did too little to protect her when she was in danger. The roots of that danger were described as difficult to unravel.

Sentencing and appellate proceedings

After he was convicted, Yellowbear filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Wyoming seeking to set aside the conviction on the grounds that only tribal and federal courts, rather than Wyoming state courts, had jurisdiction over the case. The petition was supported by the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes.

The record described that Yellowbear and Blackburn were members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, which shared the Wind River Indian Reservation with the Eastern Shoshone. Yellowbear’s lawyers argued for a venue change because the crime took place in Riverton, an incorporated city landlocked by the reservation.

The record stated the rule described for American Indian felonies and misdemeanors within reservation boundaries: felonies committed within reservation boundaries were heard in the federal court system, while misdemeanors were heard in the respective tribal courts of the reservation in which a particular crime occurred.

Other legal and administrative proceedings

In 2008, Yellowbear filed a lawsuit against the Wyoming Department of Corrections claiming the state violated his constitutional rights by depriving him of 10 bald eagle feathers for use in religious ceremonies. In late July 2008, Judge Alan Bond Johnson of the United States District Court for the District of Wyomin approved a settlement allowing Yellowbear to get four eagle feathers.

Aftermath and funeral events

Marcella Hope Yellowbear’s body rested in a small family cemetery on the Wind River Indian Reservation. The plot crested a hill southwest of Riverton, where she died on July 2, 2004, at the age of 22 months.

Several family members said that at Marcella’s funeral “nobody will hurt you again,” according to Ruby Blackburn.

Ruby Blackburn said:

"We had to bury her without clothes,"
and that the casket was left closed after a funeral director advised against dressing the girl in a special outfit chosen for the occasion.

The girl’s body had been sent to Colorado for an autopsy. Andrew Yellowbear and the girl’s mother’s family fought for control of Marcella’s remains, and a court order eventually settled the debate, sending the girl to the Blackburn cemetery. Ruby Blackburn said that at that point, “a week had passed.”

The record described the consequences continuing to shake whole families and included Ruby Blackburn’s statement:

"I'm sure glad this is going to be over with,"
"This has been going on too long."

Other details

Ruby Blackburn said Marcalia was doing well in the months before Marcella’s death, including renting her own apartment, working, taking parenting classes and attending counseling sessions. Ruby Blackburn said:

"The reason Macalia did all these things is she wanted Marcella back in her custody,"

Ruby Blackburn said a grandson and his girlfriend had helped raise Marcella at various times in the past, but that arrangement was not an option in May or June of 2004. Ruby Blackburn said:

"Marcalia asked for her daughter,"
and that she let her have her back.

Ruby Blackburn said it was not apparent until later that Andrew Yellowbear was still in the picture. She said Yellowbear would not let Blackburn speak with family and stopped her from attending classes.

Lupe Blackburn said:

"They grew up like that,"
"They don't know anything about respect."

A statement attributed to Velma Rhodes said:

The record also stated that Marcella’s case was closed before she was returned to her parents.

Marcella’s mother, Macalia Blackburn, remained in Fremont County’s jail awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty.