Cherokee Nation Marshals Arrest Man Accused Of Beating Man To Death In Stilwell

A Stilwell man is in jail Tuesday, accused of beating a man to death at an apartment in Stilwell. Darrell Hummingbird is facing tribal murder charges filed by the Cherokee Nation.

Cherokee Nation Marshals said officers arrested Hummingbird after he returned to the crime scene in the middle of the investigation.

The investigation started Monday afternoon when Stilwell police responded to the Skywood Apartments. Cherokee Nation Marshal Shannon Buhl said police found a man dead inside one of the apartments when they arrived.

Buhl said the man was beaten to death earlier on Monday. The marshals say Hummingbird got into a fight with the victim, but they have not said how Hummingbird knew the man.

The victim's identity has not been released.

Buhl said they arrested Hummingbird while officers were still at the apartment. Buhl said Hummingbird pretended not to know what was going on, but witnesses pointed him out to police as a potential suspect.

"We were all kind of surprised," Buhl said. "He started pretending like he didn't know what happened, but we had a couple witnesses come forth. We did a good investigation with Stilwell PD and also the Adair County Sheriff's Office and ended up getting enough to charge him with that murder."

Buhl said his investigators are still working the case, and they've teamed up with the FBI, Stilwell Police, and the Adair County Sheriff's Office. He expects the FBI to file additional charges soon.

Hummingbird is a Cherokee citizen, so the FBI and the Cherokee Nation Marshals both have jurisdiction and will work together to file charges.

Hummingbird is currently in the Cherokee County Jail in Tahlequah for murder.