A 74-year-old Montana man received a prison sentence of 15 years and six months this week for the September 2025 killings of his wife, stepson and the stepson's girlfriend.
Michael Joseph Ackerman pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder and using a firearm in a violent crime. The plea covered the deaths of Earlene Lucy Jones Ackerman, 65, Matthew Earl Black Thunder, 41, and Winona Longee, 35, which occurred on Sept. 14, 2025, in Yellowstone County, Montana. Prosecutors had sought 27 years and six months while the defense requested a lower term.