Murder charges against Tulsa father whose two children died in a hot car are DROPPED because they have tribal ancestry and DA has 'no jurisdiction' to prosecute after Supreme Court rules that much of Oklahoma is tribal land

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Murder charges against Dustin Lee Dennis, 31, whose two children died in a hot car have been dropped

Murder charges against an Oklahoma father whose two children died in a hot car have been dropped because they have tribal ancestry which means the district attorney has 'no jurisdiction' to prosecute him for the crimes.

Tulsa authorities dismissed their prosecution of Dustin Lee Dennis, 31, Monday - just three days after charges of second-degree murder and child neglect were filed against him.

Teagan, 4, and Ryan, 3, were found dead on June 13 after being locked inside Dennis's truck for five hours in 90 degree heat while he took a nap indoors. 

Dennis was arrested and charged over their deaths but local authorities were forced to drop the charges Monday after new information came to light about the children's tribal heritage.  

This comes after a Supreme Court ruling last week decided that crimes involving tribal citizens and on tribal land fall under the jurisdiction of federal - and not state - law enforcement. 

'This morning my office determined that the mother of the children is a member of the Cherokee Nation,' Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said Monday. 

Teagan, 4, and Ryan, 3, (pictured) were found dead on June 13 after being locked inside Dennis's truck for five hours in 90 degree heat while he took a nap indoors 

'We also determined that the oldest child had a tribal membership card. The youngest child was in the process of acquiring a tribal membership card.'  

Court records do not identify Dennis as a tribal citizen but, because the children are tribal citizens, the federal rather than the state government has jurisdiction over the crimes. 

The site of the alleged murders is also within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. 

Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that much of eastern Oklahoma is legally Indian Territory.

This decision takes away the state's power to prosecute a crime committed on a reservation or by or to a tribal citizen, and hands it over to the federal government.

The ruling came amid the territorial dispute between Oklahoma and the Muscogee Nation where the tribe challenged the state's ability to prosecute Seminole citizen Jimcy McGirt.

McGirt is currently serving two 500-year prison terms for raping a 4-year-old girl within the tribe's boundaries. 

The Seal of the Cherokee Nation at the Cherokee War Memorial a day after a Supreme Court ruling declares that a large part of eastern Oklahoma is still Native American land. The ruling means murder charges against Dennis have been dropped because the children have tribal ancestry and so the Tulsa district attorney has 'no jurisdiction' to prosecute him for the crimes

The court ruling in favor of the tribe has implications on several cases involving crimes committed on tribal land or involving tribal members.   

Kunzweiler said Monday that because of the children's tribal ancestry he was left with no choice but to hand the investigation over to the federal government.  

'The way of this future is we can literally think we've got a good case and we're moving forward on state charges only to find out, as it was in this case, the children had tribal membership,' he said.

'Based upon the US Supreme Court decision in McGirt, it is clear that jurisdiction lies with the Federal Government. We dismissed our prosecution and referred the matter to the United States Attorney's Office.'

Kunzweiler said the federal government could now file murder charges against Dennis but slammed the process for prolonging the trauma for the victims' mother.

'My concerns are with the mother of these children. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for her,' he said.

'We were confident in the facts of this case, and were prepared to move forward. Now, she has to pursue justice on behalf of her children essentially from the start again.' 

Kunzweiler added: 'This will be a reality for Eastern Oklahoma prosecutors, courts, and law enforcement for the foreseeable future until all cases with tribal membership issues can be identified.'

Dennis was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and child neglect over the deaths of his children Teagan, 4, and Ryan, 3 but the charges have now been dropped

Tulsa prosecutors filed charges against Dennis (pictured with his children) Friday but DA Steve Kunzweiler Monday announced he had been forced to drop them because the children are tribal citizens

The DA said he had contacted the US Attorney's Office in Tulsa to urge prosecutors to bring charges against Dennis.  

'They're going to have to start out essentially from scratch,' Kunzweiler said.   

Dennis was arrested back in June in connection to the deaths of Teagan and Ryan.

The father told cops he had taken them on a drive to a QuikTrip convenience store at around noon on June 13 before returning to his Tulsa home and falling asleep for between four and five hours.    

Dennis said he awoke and couldn't find the children anywhere before locating their bodies on the floorboard of his truck. 

He called 911 and moved the children into the living room of the family home where paramedics pronounced them dead. 

Surveillance footage later showed the children had clambered back into the pickup truck on their own and had not been left in it by their father. 

Days before their death, Dennis had shared a Facebook post proclaiming his love for his children. 

Officers at the scene where the children died in June. Dennis told police he drove with his kids around noon to a convenience store, but then returned home and fell asleep for several hours

'Two in the morning up watching my kids sleep, I can't believe they're mine, I love them so much and nobody in this world could ever make me feel as loved as they do. The other day I was so depressed because I just missed them, and I got to thinking of when they get older and become adults,' he wrote.

'If you don't have kids you may not understand this but that is the scariest but most amazing thing to think of, watching them become their own person and seeing what they will experience and achieve. I hope our bond only grows stronger, I hope they always want to call me or see me just to talk or ask for advice. I can't imagine this world without them,' he continued.   

Dennis was released from jail on a personal recognizance bond last month.

On Friday, the Tulsa County DA's Office filed charges of two counts of second-degree felony murder and child neglect. 

The Supreme Court ruling makes the darker shaded areas Indian tribal lands again. Crimes involving tribal citizens and on tribal land fall under federal and not state jurisdiction so the federal government must now decide whether to file murder charges against Dennis

The charging document, which are now voided, said the father had caused the deaths of his children by committing child neglect described as 'sleeping for hours during the day when he was the sole caretaker.'  

The office for US attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma Trent Shores said in a statement it works together with tribal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute cases. 

'Let there be no doubt that my team of federal prosecutors, legal support staff, victim specialists, and administrative staff are working around the clock right now to pursue justice and help victims of crime,' the statement read. 

'We are doing so in partnership with tribal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as with the Tulsa County and Creek County District Attorneys and the Muscogee (Creek) Attorney General. 

We want to ensure the citizens of northeastern Oklahoma continue to receive seamless public safety services.'