FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 9, 2024

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that a San Antonio, Texas woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, after earlier pleading guilty to charges in a 2023 stabbing death in Vermillion.

Chezayia Raniyah Liggins, 20, was sentenced Thursday in Clay County Circuit Court. She received a 15-year prison sentence on one count of Aggravated Assault and a 10-year prison sentence on one count of Second Degree Manslaughter. The sentences will be served consecutively. A 10-year sentence for a second count of Second Degree Manslaughter was suspended.

Liggins was charged in the July 30, 2023 stabbing death of 47-year-old Christopher Bartling of Vermillion.

The Vermillion Police Department and the South Dakota Division of Investigation (DCI) were in charge of the investigation.

Prosecution of the case was handled by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office and the Clay County State’s Attorney’s Office.

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