Thelma Conroy-Rios facts for kids

Thelma Conroy-Rios was a Native American activist. She is perhaps best known for her involvement in the Wounded Knee incident and for her involvement in the murder of fellow American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Aquash.

Personal life

Between 1974 and 1975, Thelma Conroy-Rios allowed a fellow male activist Harry Hill to live with her. Conroy-Rios and Hill were said to be involved in a common law marriage.

Although identified as a cop by ex-wife Thelma Conroy-Rios, Hill's role as a law official is disputed.

Conroy-Rios identified Hill as having provoked the Custer Courthouse Incident Riot that unfolded in 1973 following a one-day jail sentence of murderer Darld Schmitz, a White Air Force veteran in the murder of Wesley Bad Heart Bull. According to Conroy-Rios, "He started it all, Dave. He provoked the riot. He was right there. He told me so, proudly, several times. He instigated that courtroom riot too. I was there. I saw him start it, punching a cop. At the time everybody thought it was great. He was a warrior. He was a hero and everybody trusted him, including me." Conroy-Rios' account is corroborated by a separate account found in Peter Matthiessen's book In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.

Conroy-Rios was an enrolled student at Black Hills State University, but had to drop out after her daughter was born with a rare blood disease in 1970.

Legal history

Court

Conroy-Rios was indicted on September 9, 2009 on one count of felony murder for kidnapping and one count of premeditated murder to Anna Mae, with a trial scheduled for November. Rios agreed to a plea deal which allowed her to avoid going to trial on murder charges, which resulted in her pleading guilty to acting as an accessory in the kidnapping of Aquash, and as a result, was sentenced to serve five years in prison. Rios admitted that Aquash was kept at her home in Rapid City, South Dakota, then taken to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Judge Delaney of South Dakota suspended the five-year maximum sentence and instead ordered 90 days in jail, which Rios had served while waiting to be released on bond. In a plea agreement, Rios indicated that she overheard two other people who wanted Aquash to be killed, but these names were redacted from court documents. Prosecutors and defense attorneys requested that Conroy-Rios' plea agreement be sealed, which approved and carried out by the judge.

Death

On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, Rios died at 4:30 P.M. DST Wednesday of complications from lung cancer in Rapid City, South Dakota at the Rapid City Regional Hospital. Attorney Matt Kinney revealed that Rios had been diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after the negotiation of her plea agreement.

Legacy

Before her death, Rios provided names of individuals outside of her accomplices who partook in the orchestration of the murder of Anna Mae Aquash. Although Conroy-Rios died before being able to share the information in its totality, Attorney General of South Dakota Marty Jackley has access to her sworn statement and indicated that case is not over.