Vanished in Vermillion by Lou Raguse

Author:Lou Raguse [Raguse, Lou]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781637587263
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 2022-12-09T11:07:37+00:00

Chapter 26

Black Crow Meets Lykken

When Aloysius Black Crow arrived at the South Dakota State Penitentiary on August 18, 2003, guards brought him to the Jameson Annex, the same section of the prison where David Lykken was being held at the time. Wearing different color sweats from the rest of the inmates, Black Crow was clearly being transferred from outside.

On August 28, 2004, the same day the search of the Lykken farm graced the front page of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Black Crow was prominently featured in a different article. He was inviting outside guests to watch a Native American spiritual conference behind prison walls.

“We are attempting to bring in a larger outside guest audience who can see that we are trying to preserve our Native American Indian way of life and teach others to respect it and love it as we do,” the Argus Leader quoted Black Crow as saying.

If Black Crow checked the newspaper for his own quote, it is very possible that he read all about David’s case in the Argus Leader’s expansive coverage.

At the prison, Black Crow was given a job as a prison barber. He cut inmates’ hair in the same section where David was an orderly, sweeping the floors and cleaning up around Black Crow.

Before long, Black Crow reached out to his unit manager and said while cutting David’s hair, the inmate shared some eyebrow-raising details about his past crimes, such as describing the best way to dispose of a body by digging a hole in a newly covered or filled grave and placing the body on top. Black Crow said David had been sharing tidbits of his crimes for more than a year, and Black Crow claimed he could get David to tell him where Pam and Sherri were buried.

Prison administrators put Black Crow in touch with Special Agent Mike Braley, who was still in charge of the Jackson-Miller investigation, despite not much happening in the case over the prior year. Black Crow made it clear what he wanted in exchange for helping investigators.

“I asked Mike Braley if he would put in a good word for me after everything was done for my cooperation because I was trying to get back to the Montana prison at the time,” Black Crow said. “He said he couldn’t promise anything, but he would talk to his boss and let him know I was cooperating, and he would talk to Montana.”

Black Crow said his wife, who had remained married and committed to him despite his incarceration, had recently broken up with him. He thought getting transferred closer to home in Montana could save his marriage. Black Crow would be eligible for parole in eleven years, and he said he hoped helping the DCI would also result in an earlier release from prison. According to Black Crow, Agent Braley told him about Jeremy Brunner, the inmate who helped convict serial killer Robert Leroy Anderson, and how his cooperation led to a reduced sentence.

After a few conversations, the lawman

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