Deserly Sentenced For Voluntary Manslaughter
A Wolf Point woman, who was part of group that beat a man to death last year, was sentenced on Monday, Sept. 14, to 11 years and four months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Abrianne Lillian Deserly, 26, pleaded guilty in August 2026 to voluntary manslaughter.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Deserly was part of group that beat Gifford Standing to death in an abandoned house on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
The victim was found dead on Feb. 26, 2025, on the second floor of a house in Wolf Point, described by area residents as a local “flop house” where people occasionally went to drink and sleep. Investigators found that Deserly and others, after a night of drinking, had gone in the house in the early morning hours of Feb. 26 and found the victim asleep on the second floor. With Deserly were Calvin Florin Lester, 37, and Dillon Demery Wetsit, 41.
Lester was sentenced on Sept. 3 to nearly 11 years in prison for his role in the Standing’s death. Wetsit pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in June; he will be sentenced on Oct. 15.
The assault happened after an argument broke out and Deserly, along with Lester and Wetsit, began to hit the victim. Things escalated and they beat him severely. A witness described seeing Deserly kick the victim in the face. At one point, the victim was placed in a chokehold while other members of the group hit him. A medical examination showed the victim died from “homicidal violence” with neck compression and blunt injuries to the head.
The U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce prosecuted the case. The Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
