THE COURT: Call your first witness.

MR. McMAHON: Call Roger Amiotte.

ROGER AMIOTTE,

called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified and

said as follows:

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Roger, would you tell the jury your name, please?

A. Roger Amiotte.

Q. You can sit back a ways from that mic. Where do you

live, Roger?

A. I live eighteen miles south of Kadoka, or ten miles east

of Wanblee.

Q. What is your occupation?

A. Pardon?

Q. What do you do for a living?

A. I am a rancher.

Q. How long have you ranched?

A. Since I was seventeen.

Q. Did you ranch in that area during February of 1976?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. During the February of 1976, did you have an occasion to

discover a body on your land?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Would you tell the jury how that happened?

A. Oh, I was getting livestock out on the highway which

adjoined my pasture, and I was checking fences, and with a

plan of extending a fence in to a Bad Land wall. When I

rounded the curve, rounded the curve in a draw or a gully, and

discovered a body.

Q. Was that body laying at the bottom of a cliff?

A. Yes, it was.

Q. What did you do when you discovered the body?

A. I immediately returned to my house, which is a mile

away, and called the Tribal police.

Q. Then did they come to your house?

A. Yes, they did.

Q. Did you take them out to where the body was?

A. Yes, I did.

MR. McMAHON: Your Honor, do you want me to ask

permission to approach each time?

THE COURT: No, you can approach.

(Exhibit 4 marked For identification.)

BY MR. McMAHON:.

Q. Mr. Amiotte, I hand you what's been marked Exhibit 4,

Can you tell me what that is?

A. That would be the body that I discovered.

Q. Is that a picture of the body as you actually saw it

there that day when you first found it?

A. Yes, it is. As near as I can tell that would be.

MR. McMAHON: Offer Exhibit 4, Your Honor.

MR. RENSCH: No objection.

THE COURT: Exhibit 4 is received.

MR. McMAHON: May I put this on the screen, Your Honor?

THE COURT: You may.

BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Mr. Amiotte, can you see the picture on the computer next to you?

A. Yes, I can.

Q. Is that the same picture you just identified as Exhibit 4?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Last year did you have an occasion to show Mr. Bob

Ecoffey where that body was located when you found it?

A. Yes, I did.

(Exhibit 8 marked For identification.)

BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. I am going to hand you Exhibit 8. Is that a picture

that shows part of the land that you ranch?

A. Yes, it does.

Q. Does it also show where the body was located?

A. Yes, it is accurate.

Q. Did you in fact take Mr. Ecoffey out there to show him

where the body had been located?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And you see a little white area in that photograph?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Is that where the body was located?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Let me ask you, Mr. Amiotte, is that land within the

confines of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Is it land that is held in trust?

A. Yes.

Q. One more thing. In that picture I think if you look at

the back of it, it was taken in August of 2003?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Does that picture accurately depict the land as it

looked back in 1975?

A. Well, not exactly, because owing to erosion, natural

erosion will, the cliff or the bank at the bottom where she

was laying is now, or is now less vertical than it was at that time.

Q. So that cliff isn't quite as steep now?

A. Pardon?

Q. The cliff isn't quite as steep now as it was?

A. No, it isn't, it is more of a gradual.

Q. Other than that, is it a pretty accurate depiction of

what the land looked like in 1975?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. In that picture between the highway and that cliff, it

is hard to see, but it looks like there is a fence along

there. Let me just ask you, was there any fence located

between the highway and that cliff where you found the body in 1975?

A. No, there wasn't. This is basically, it was unfenced

for probably a stretch of a half to three quarter mile.

MR. McMAHON: Offer Exhibit 8, Your Honor.

MR. RENSCH: No objection.

THE COURT: Exhibit 8 is received.

MR. McMAHON: May I publish that, Your Honor?

THE COURT: You may.

BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Mr. Amiotte, would you draw a circle around the white

area where the body was located. Just put your finger on the

screen and draw a little circle around it.

A. (Witness marks exhibit).

Q. The fence that I was talking about, is this the fence

that is there now that runs right along there?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. That wasn't there back in '75?

A. No, that was entirely open to the highway at that time.

(Exhibit 6 marked For identification.)

BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Mr. Amiotte, I am going to hand you what's been marked

Exhibit 6. I would like you to take a look at that and tell

us if you recognize that?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. What is it?

A. It is a picture of the body that I discovered, and it

appears to be a picture of myself setting at the top of this.

Q. Was that taken back when you first discovered the body?

A. Yes, I am sure it was.

MR. McMAHON: Offer Exhibit 6, Your Honor.

MR. RENSCH: No objection.

THE COURT: Exhibit 6 is received.

MR. McMAHON: May I publish this?

THE COURT: You may.

BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Should be on your computer screen now, Mr. Amiotte. Is

that the picture that you just identified as Exhibit 6?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. How far is that from the top to the bottom of that cliff

approximately?

A. Approximately thirty foot.

MR. McMAHON: Thank you, I have no further

questions, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Cross examine.

MR. RENSCH: Thank you.

CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. RENSCH:

Q. Afternoon, sir.

A. Good afternoon.

Q. How far is it from the edge of the road to the tip of the cliff?

A. Approximately a hundred foot.

Q. Do you call it a cliff, or do you call it a ravine, what

do you refer to it as?

A. Well, actually it was a natural barrier for livestock at

that time. The east side of it was pretty much a cliff situation.

Q. How close did you get to the body, sir?

A. Somewhere between thirty and fifteen feet.

Q. Did you see any bullet holes in the ground?

A. No, I didn't.

Q. Did you find any rope or anything up on top of the cliff?

A. No, sir.

Q. Other than the body being present, did you see anything

that was out of the ordinary about the ground around the body?

A. No, sir.

MR. RENSCH: Thank you, nothing further.

THE COURT: Any redirect?

MR. McMAHON: No, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Very well, thank you Mr. Amiotte, you

may step down. Call your next witness.