United States v. Bagola, No. 14-1034 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseD.S. and her brother T.D., were nine and six years old, when their mother, found them dead in a bedroom at their father’s house, on the North Dakota Spirit Lake Reservation. D.S., found without underwear or pants, had sustained 40 stab wounds and had a battery inserted into her rectum. T.D. suffered 66 stab wounds. Officers recovered bloody knives from indoor and outdoor trash cans.. A partially open basement window permitted access to the residence. The father was later arrested for public intoxication. Law enforcement agents first focused on him as a suspect. Days later, during a polygraph examination, DuBois denied any involvement, but then confessed to the crime. Investigators later focused on Bagola, a cousin who had lived with the family. He moved into another house nearby before the murders. DNA found under D.S.’s fingernails matched Bagola’s. Bagola babysat the children in the days before the murders. Investigators interviewed Bagola, and he provided detailed written confessions to the murders and the sexual abuse of D.S. Bagola was charged with “murder . . . committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, . . . aggravated sexual abuse[,] sexual abuse, [or] child abuse,” 18 U.S.C. 1111(a), 1153. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, rejecting challenges to jury instructions on felony murder and child abuse, the sufficiency of the evidence, and the court’s restriction of Bagola’s cross-examination of a witness
Court Description: Colloton, Author, with Wollman, Circuit Judge and White, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. Defendant requested the felony murder and child abuse instructions given by the court and could not now challenge them on appeal; there was sufficient evidence for the jury to convict defendant of felony murder of the child victim D.S.; defendant had sufficient opportunity to raise doubt about another suspect's retraction of his confession and it was not plain error to exclude his cross-examination about a polygraph examiner's comment.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.