Federal Jury Convicts McIntosh County Resident Of Murder

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that David Deval Martin, age 39, of McIntosh County, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury for the 2013 murder of a Checotah resident.

The jury trial began with testimony on October 8, 2024, and concluded on October 11, 2024, with the verdict of guilty on one count of Murder in Indian Country.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that on November 7, 2013, Martin killed a Checotah resident with malice aforethought. At trial, the government presented evidence that Martin viciously beat and stabbed the victim, who sustained over 109 separate injuries during the attack, including dozens of injuries to the head and neck. At the scene of the crime, investigators recovered Martin's DNA mixed with the victim's own blood from the front door of the home, and Martin's fingerprint on the handle of a metal rod used to beat the victim. Martin's DNA was also recovered from the steering wheel of the victim's abandoned car. The crime occurred in McIntosh County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The guilty verdicts were the result of investigations by the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Honorable Timothy D. DeGiusti, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, sitting by assignment, presided over the trial in Oklahoma City and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. Martin will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal until sentencing.

Trial Attorneys Jared Hernandez and Bryan Lynch from the Department of Justice Violent Crime and Racketeering Section represented the United States.