Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal
RAPID CITY, S.D. – Every day after work, Chance White Eagle and his father Chris walked around Rapid City’s northside looking for Shamar Bennett, a man wanted in connection with the death of Chance’s 7-week-old daughter Aiko Storm White Eagle on Nov. 19, 2022.
In the months since Aiko’s death, her family has continued to fight for justice and for answers to what happened to the Cheyenne River Lakota infant.
Traveling up and down streets, across apartment complexes, beside Rapid Creek and all over Memorial Park all under the unforgiving South Dakota summer sun – the White Eagle family wasn’t going to go one more day without justice.
When a warrant for murder suspect Shamar Bennett’s arrest was posted on Aug. 14, the White Eagle family finally had the opportunity to work alongside law enforcement and hunt for Bennett. After one year and 10 months, police believed they had identified her killers.
Slow justice
On Nov. 13, 2022, Aiko’s maternal aunt Courtney Martinez and Shamar Bennett were babysitting her when she experienced multiple traumatic blows, Chris White Eagle said.
Six days later, she died.
The family began working with South Dakota Attorney General’s Office Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Coordinator Allison Morrisette. Aiko’s death was Morrisette’s first case.
But a year later on Nov. 21, 2023, the frustrated family joined other Indigenous families in staging a sit-in protest inside Pennington County State’s Attorney Lara Roetzel’s office. The White Eagle family felt they couldn’t hold a proper memorial for Aiko without justice for her killers.
The group of 30 people called for Roetzel to resign over her inability to resolve the cases of their missing and murdered relatives, including Aiko, Kyle Whiting, Kasey Arehart, Abbey Steele and 14-year-old Nevaeh Brave Heart.
Nearly nine months later on Aug. 14, authorities indicted Bennett and Martinez on charges of second-degree murder and abuse and cruelty of a minor less than seven years of age in connection with Aiko’s death.
The indictments, followed by warrants issued for Bennett and Martinez, finally brought some relief to Aiko’s family, who said they no longer hold hard feelings against the State’s Attorney’s office.
“We’re happy with the way things have played out,” Chris White Eagle said.
Martinez was apprehended soon after her warrant was issued, but Bennett remained free, at least for a while.
With the go-ahead from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Department, the family joined the search for Bennett.
Knocking on doors
Once the clock hit 5 p.m. and work was done Aug. 14, Aiko’s father Chance and grandfather Chris took off, establishing a routine they’d continue every day until Bennett was found. The family knocked on doors and handed out fliers.
Throughout 90-degree days, the White Eagles searched, focusing on places they thought Bennett might be. As they did, they thought about Aiko and the time stolen from her.
“She only got to see the world for two weeks,” said her grandfather Chris White Eagle.
As a premature baby, Aiko was released from the neonatal intensive care unit only two weeks prior to her death.
“There’s 101 different stories (about what happened),” he said. “We know what the doctors told us. We wanna get the story out. This has been pushed under the rug. We want the true story out.”
On the morning of Aug. 20, the White Eagles received word Bennett had been apprehended outside an apartment complex in Rapid City.
For the White Eagles, her arrest isn’t a complete relief.
“They’re probably going to go back and forth, see whoever wants to make a deal to collaborate,” said Chris White Eagle. “But I told the state, ‘I want justice. In order for us to get justice, I want everybody who fabricated the story, who covered up the story, to be charged.’”
A sordid past
This isn’t Bennett’s first encounter with law enforcement.
He was convicted of third-degree burglary in 2018 and in 2020 was accused of possession and intent to distribute drugs, a charge that was dismissed in December 2022 after Bennett completed a diversion program.
Most notably in August 2020, Bennett helped Arnson Absolu dispose of a body in a shallow grave near Sheridan Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota. On Jan. 26, 2023, Absolu was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, based in part on Bennett’s testimony. In exchange, Bennett served no jail time for his role.
“If he had been in jail, Aiko may still be here,” said Chris White Eagle.
Honoring Storm
Since Aiko’s death in 2022, her family has fought to keep her memory alive.
“We want to say thank you to the DCI (Department of Criminal Investigations) and Allie,” Chris White Eagle said. “Without them, none of this would’ve happened.”
To honor Aiko, the White Eagles named their new business – a workforce development enterprise that provides apprenticeships to Native youth – Sacred Storm Buffalo. As part of the program, Rapid City youth use traditional harvest techniques to process Buffalo meat.
Aiko’s middle name, Storm, and her big sister Alani’s middle name, Rain, were the inspiration for the company’s name.
As co-defendants, Bennett’s and Martinez’s arraignments are scheduled for Sept. 23. Chris White Eagle fears his family will never know what really happened to Aiko.
“As much as I want to be hateful, I don’t wish this on anyone,” he said. “The last year and 10 months have been hell.”
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
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