OKLAHOMA CITY – Last week, Billy Jack Waitman, 39, of Dibble, was sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison for committing an assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On December 5, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a two-count Indictment against Waitman, charging him with attempting to commit murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to public record, in the months leading up to July 2023, Waitman lived with his mother, who at the time was a terminally ill, bedridden hospice patient. Family members told law enforcement that Waitman was growing hostile toward his mother, and made several threatening remarks, including that he intended to kill her, in March 2023. That remark was heard by a family member, who called authorities and had Waitman placed into custody. He was released four days later.
On July 24, 2023, another family member of Waitman’s came to the defendant’s home and found Waitman on top of the victim with his hands on her. The family member restrained Waitman, and he was arrested shortly after. A further evaluation of the victim showed that Waitman had brutally assaulted the victim, and she was taken to a nearby hospital. The victim was released to a nursing home and died three days later of what was determined to be natural causes.
On April 16, 2024, Waitman pleaded guilty to Count 2 of the Indictment, and admitted he assaulted the victim in Indian country, and the victim sustained serious bodily injuries that involved extreme physical pain.
This case is in federal court because Waitman is a member of the Choctaw Nation and the crime was committed within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation.
At the sentencing hearing on October 29, 2024, U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones sentenced Waitman to serve 120 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing the sentence, the Court noted there was an “avalanche of evidence” showing Defendant intended to harm his mother because he considered her a burden.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Division and the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department, in collaboration with the Chickasaw Nation Office of Tribal Justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark R. Stoneman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaleigh Blackwell prosecuted the case.

Reference is made to public filings for additional information.