MUSKOGEE, Okla. — An Oklahoma man has been found guilty of killing his twin brother.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Kyle Joseph Vannortwick, age 36, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of second-degree murder in Indian Country.
The jury trial began with testimony on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, and concluded on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, with the guilty verdict.
Kyle Vannortwick faces up to life in prison for the crime the jury found he committed.
According to the attorney's office, on Feb. 18, 2018, Kyle assaulted his brother, Adam Vannortwick, in their home. During the assault, Kyle stabbed his brother three times with a BBQ Knife; once in the head, once in the neck and once in the chest. Adam died due to the amount of blood lost.
Kyle was taken into custody at the scene and allegedly claimed the death was accidental.
During the trial, Kyle testified his brother attacked him and he pushed him away, causing his brother to fall on a kitchen table where the BBQ knife was lying.
In the closing argument, the defense said the three stab wounds must have occurred when the victim landed on the table.
The defense team argued this theory was impossible, and the evidence demonstrated Kyle stabbed his twin brother three separate times, causing his death.
The case was originally set to be tried in the District Court of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, where the murder took place. However, after the United States Supreme Court determined Congress had never disestablished the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation, the case had to be dismissed in state court and refiled in federal court because the murder happened in Muskogee County, within the boundaries of Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation and Kyle was a member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe.
The guilty verdict was the result of an investigation by the Muskogee Police Department and the FBI.