The case has moved into Muscogee Nation court after the related federal prosecution was dismissed. Former Oklahoma state Rep. Dan Kirby faces a felony-homicide charge over the July 2022 motorcycle crash that killed Sheryl Bichsel. Muscogee Nation prosecutors filed the charge July 27, 2026, and the federal case was dismissed Aug. 6, according to NonDoc Media.
The tribal case follows a federal dismissal
U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III granted federal prosecutors’ request to dismiss the involuntary-manslaughter case after they abandoned plans for a second trial, NonDoc reported. Heil wrote that ending the case was not contrary to the public interest or motivated by an improper purpose. A new federal trial had been scheduled for Oct. 5.
The federal case had begun with Kirby’s 2023 conviction and a 41-month prison sentence. In December 2025, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the conviction after finding that Heil should have clarified a jury question about the legal meaning of driving under the influence; the appellate decision sent the case back to federal district court, according to NonDoc.
Why the case is in tribal court
Kirby is a Muscogee Nation citizen, and the crash occurred within the Muscogee Nation reservation. That places criminal jurisdiction with the federal government and the tribe rather than the state of Oklahoma under the framework associated with McGirt v. Oklahoma, according to NonDoc. Bichsel was an enrolled Choctaw Nation citizen, according to her funeral-home obituary.
Federal law limits tribal-court sentences under enhanced sentencing authority to three years for each offense and nine years total in one proceeding, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Those limits are lower than the 41-month sentence imposed in Kirby’s federal case.
What led to the charges
Kirby and Bichsel were riding home on a motorcycle in July 2022 when Kirby lost control near Checotah. Bichsel suffered head trauma in the crash and died the next day. She was 56 and was not wearing a helmet, according to NonDoc.
Motorcycle safety context
According to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, most motor vehicle fatalities in Oklahoma result from driver behaviors such as impaired driving, speeding and distracted driving. For historical context, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Highway Safety Office records show that 105 motorcyclists were killed in crashes in 2009, and 68 of them, or 64.8%, were not wearing helmets.
Kirby represented Oklahoma House District 75 as a Republican for four terms before resigning amid allegations of sexual harassment involving a legislative assistant and a recommended House expulsion, according to Public Radio Tulsa. He later won a seat on the Eufaula City Council in 2021 and resigned from it in March 2023 after a federal grand jury indictment, according to NonDoc.
The available reporting identifies the Muscogee Nation felony-homicide charge and the dismissed federal case as arising from the same crash. The charging document and any tribal-court hearing schedule were not provided here.
