Man Sentenced for Murder of a Colville Tribal Elder

A Washington man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for murdering a Colville Tribal elder.

According to U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Washington, 38-year-old Steven Joseph Zacherle received his sentence Friday for Second Degree Murder in Indian Country and Threats in Interstate Commerce. Zacherle must also pay restitution to the Colville Confederated Tribes for the murder victim's funeral expenses.

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In October 2022, Zacherle was in a domestic dispute with his intimate partner, when his partner drove away from a gas station on the Colville Indian Reservation. When Zacherle realized she left, he began calling and texting her to demand she return or he was going to kill and hurt people.

About the same time as Zacherle made these threats, an elder within the tribe, Dion Boyd, exited the nearby gas station. Zacherle attacked Boyd, striking him in the head.
Within minutes, Zacherle called his partner asking if she wanted to see what Zacherle did. She reported she could hear garbeled breating and snorting on the phone line.

Shortly after, Omak Police and first responders found Boyd face down, bleeding from his head. Medical examiners determined Boyd as braindead and he died from his injuries.

“This appalling attack was truly senseless.” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Mr. Zacherle displayed a shocking disregard for the value of human life when he took his frustrations out on an innocent bystander, recklessly costing that person his life.  The Colville Indian Reservation is a safer place with him off the streets.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Colville Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker and Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Assistant United States Attorney Bree R. Black Horse