By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 33-year-old Perkins man accused of choking a 13-year-old female relative on three occasions at his residence has been ordered to appear in court on Oct. 3 when he can seek a preliminary hearing on three counts of child abuse alleged to have occurred between June 12 and July 4.
Kerstien Daniel McMurl, who remains free on $20,000 bail, “did not want to be interviewed,” Perkins Deputy Police Chief Kyle Howard wrote in an affidavit filed with the charge last week.
During interviews in late August at the Saville Child Advocacy Center in Stillwater, the girl “disclosed choking among other things,” Howard alleged in an affidavit.
“She was not able to breathe, and she said it hurt. She said she could not talk to say anything because she couldn’t breathe,” the affidavit alleged.
A 4-year-old girl, who was also interviewed at the Saville Center, said, “Sometimes he punches her (the 13-year-old) in the face,” the affidavit alleged.
The 4-year-old said that she would draw a picture of McMurl putting his hand around the 13-year-old’s neck, the affidavit alleged.
“Due to the interviews, I knew Kerstein McMurl worked for the Iowa Tribe in some capacity as an environmentalist. I went to the Iowa Tribe area where he worked and with the assistance from Iowa Tribe Police Department, Kerstein McMurl was arrested without incident and transported to the Payne County Jail,” Howard wrote in his affidavit.
The affidavit did not indicate where the children were currently residing in the case involving the state Department of Human Services.
