An Ashland man Thursday denied federal charges that he helped murder Rosella Wooden Thigh, whose body was burned in a fire pit after she was shot.

Shane Michael Sandcrane, 20, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with aiding and abetting first degree murder. He is the second person charged in the May 5 murder of Wooden Thigh, 32, in a trailer house in Ashland on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

Although Sandcrane has been in tribal custody since May, Thursday's arraignment was his first appearance in federal court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby ordered Sandcrane to remain in federal custody.

The indictment accuses Sandcrane of aiding Trinidad Quiroz in murdering Wooden Thigh. Quiroz, 37, of Ashland, died five days after the murder and was never charged. His obituary listed no cause of death.

Earlier this month, Reno James Runs Above, 36, of Ashland, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in the murder. Runs Above admitted he watched Quiroz kill Wooden Thigh then helped him try to get rid of her body. He is awaiting sentencing and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.

Sandcrane's indictment provides no details about his involvement, but court records in Runs Above's case refers to a third unidentified man.

An investigation began May 12 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs got a report that Wooden Thigh was missing. She lived part-time on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and part-time in South Dakota.

BIA investigators learned that Wooden Thigh was last seen with Runs Above. The case turned into a criminal investigation when the officers suspected foul play.

The investigation found that on the evening of May 5, Wooden Thigh, Quiroz, Runs Above and an unidentified man were drinking at a trailer house. The men tried to persuade Wooden Thigh to have sex with all of them but she refused.

Quiroz got angry when Wooden Thigh said no and he attempted to kill her by assaulting her and trying to break her neck, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek. Quiroz and the unidentified man left the trailer. They returned a short time later with a handgun and Quiroz shot Wooden Thigh.

After discussing ways to dispose of the body, the three men decided to burn it, along with furniture and carpet from the trailer, to try to destroy evidence, the prosecutor said. Witnesses told investigators the body burned for five days.

The day after the shooting, the men returned to the trailer with bleach to clean up blood from the shooting, Suek said.

They also agreed not to tell law enforcement about their roles in Wooden Thigh's death or their efforts to destroy evidence.

Human remains were found May 30 in Ashland and were sent to an FBI laboratory for testing.

If convicted, Sandcrane faces mandatory life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case will be heard by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull.