Nebraska man indicted in connection to Yankton woman's death

(KSFY)
Published: Dec. 14, 2018 at 3:26 PM CST
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A Nebraska man has been indicted on an arson charge in connection to the death of a Yankton woman last month.

An Omaha grand jury indicted 47-year-old Joseph Lloyd James of Norfolk on Friday for setting Phyllis Hunhoff's car on fire, according to court documents.

Authorities found Hunhoff's body in the burned vehicle near a bridge and a fallen tree off Highway 12 on the Santee Sioux Reservation in Knox County, Nebraska.

She was reported missing on Nov. 5 after she did not show up for work. Hunhoff had left her mother's home in Utica, South Dakota, around 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 4.

According to a criminal complaint, video provided to tribal police shows James getting out of the driver's seat of Hunhoff's 2001 white Honda Accord around 3:10 a.m. on Nov. 5 to buy gas at the Feather Hill gas station at the Ohiya Casino.

James returned to the gas station around 5:51 a.m. in Hunhoff's car where he was seen pumping gas into a pop bottle. He allegedly told the attendant he had blood on his shirt from hitting a deer and needed help getting his truck out of the ditch.

According to the criminal complaint, James then told the attendant he was borrowing a car from a friend who lived in Yankton.

About two hours later, James went to a home on the reservation looking for someone and seemed nervous. The homeowners gave him a clean shirt.

Two days later, authorities found Hunhoff's car. A pop bottle and clothing removed from the vehicle smelled of gasoline.

Authorities were able to get James' shirt from the homeowners he visited. It tested positive for Hunhoff's blood, according to the complaint.