Man convicted in pregnant girlfriend’s death in SD says gun fired by accident, feds say
.png "Ashton Provost and her unborn baby were shot and killed near Porcupine, South Dakota.")
A South Dakota man accused of killing his girlfriend and her unborn baby was found guilty in federal court.
McKenzie Big Crow, 20, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act and possession of an unregistered firearm on Jan. 23, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota.
Big Crow’s attorney declined McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Big Crow was convicted in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Ashton Provost, 19, and her unborn baby near Porcupine, South Dakota, officials said.
Big Crow told investigators that on Aug. 20, 2023, he put a semiautomatic rifle in a backpack. He said he bumped into the backpack and hit it against a door, causing the gun to go off, officials said.
When the gun went off, Provost was hit in the chest, killing her and her unborn baby, according to prosecutors.
“She was so alive all the time,” her mother, Lorilei Janis, told KELO. “All the time. Just an aura of, you know, just laughter. Positiveness. Just always bringing a smile to your face all the time.”
Big Crow’s father told the news outlet he doesn’t believe his son purposefully shot Provost and that his son “brought Provost to him.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that it was an accident because, one, and it was an accident, and because he was crying, he was asking for help,” Francis Jamie Big Crow told KELO. “’Dad, help me, help me, my baby, my baby is gone,’ and he’s crying, and I’m on the phone with 911.”
Authorities said McKenzie Big Crow had drugs in his system the day of the shooting.
Provost had a daughter, according to her obituary.
“She loved everyone she encountered and would do just about anything to make sure they knew it. Ashton never let anyone stand in her way when showing her love, especially to her dad as a little girl, she was ‘such a daddy’s girl,’ and her daughter is exactly like her,” the obituary said.
Big Crow will be sentenced in April. He faces 26 years in prison.
Porcupine is about an 85-mile drive southeast of Rapid City.
