Wolf Point Man Admits To Homicide On Fort Peck Indian Reservation

A man admitted in federal court last week to shooting a man dead on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

Ethan Louis Murphy, 27, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to counts of second-degree murder and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. The homicide last year in Wolf Point spurred a massive search on the part of local and federal authorities, prompting officials to ask locals to shelter in place.

Murphy changed his plea on Feb. 11, at the federal courthouse in Great Falls. He is currently in custody at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, with his sentencing scheduled for June of this year.

Late on the night of Sept. 28, 2025, Murphy approached two men in the parking lot of an Albertsons in Wolf Point. He had a pistol in his hand. One of two men drew a machete, and Murphy shot him in the head, killing him. Murphy then shot and wounded second man before leaving the area.

Surveillance footage of the shooting captured the voice of someone saying, “It was Ethan. It was Ethan,” according to court documents.

Officers with the Wolf Point Police Department responded to the shooting. Members of the FBI and Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigations soon joined in the investigation, collecting bullet casings at the scene. When investigators identified Murphy as the suspect, a search began that looped in the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office, Wolf Point Fire Department, Indian Health Service staff, U.S. Border Patrol and Montana Highway Patrol.


Federal charges were filed against Murphy in December 2025. With the second-degree murder charge, Murphy was essentially accused of killing someone deliberately and maliciously, but not premeditatively. With his guilty plea, Murphy is facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison.