A man previously convicted of killing someone and later released on parole after then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem commuted his life sentence is now facing federal charges tied to the death of his 14-year-old niece, prosecutors said.
Mark Milk, whose manslaughter sentence was shortened in 2023 after he had spent nearly three decades in prison, was charged following the death of McKenna Wendel, who prosecutors say died from a suspected cocaine overdose one day after she was reported missing on March 13, according to an indictment obtained by ABC News.
Wendel’s body was discovered on March 19 in a remote area near Brookings, roughly 60 miles north of her hometown of Sioux Falls.
“This is a horrific case,” FBI Special Agent Gene Kowel said at a Thursday press conference.
“There are no cases that we investigate that are more heart-wrenching and more tragic than the ones that involve children or the death of a child. Our hearts go out to the victim’s family in this case, to McKenna’s family.”
At the time her body was found, Milk was already in custody on an unrelated DUI charge. Authorities had publicly identified him as a potential suspect as the investigation continued over several months.
Federal prosecutors said the 51-year-old now faces two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine resulting in Wendel’s death, as well as charges of transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiring with another man to destroy evidence.
A second man, 38-year-old Jon Rogness, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy and accessory counts connected to the alleged attempt to cover up evidence, prosecutors said.
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Milk was handed a 240-year sentence in 1994 for fatally stabbing a man during a 1993 fight. Noem, who was governor of South Dakota at the time, commuted the prison term in 2023, making him eligible for parole.
The slain child was later listed among guests at his June 2024 parole hearing.
It was not immediately clear when Milk was set free from prison.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said the decision to grant Milk clemency was entirely Noem’s call.
“I wasn’t attorney general at that time that this commutation process went, but I went through the process,” he said during a news conference in late March, noting the case documents were sealed.
“Law enforcement provided the reports that indicate what had occurred back with the initial manslaughter, and then at that point, under the constitution, it’s a determination of the governor to make a commutation or parole decision.”
Noem has served as US special envoy to the Shield of the Americas since March after being pushed out of her old post as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
President Trump had unveiled the new coalition that same month.
With Post wires.
