WHITE SHIELD — A White Shield man has been charged by federal prosecutors with the assault and murder of his girlfriend.

Derick Colin Wilkinson, 34, White Shield, faces charges of second-degree murder and assault of an intimate partner by strangulation in connection to an incident on Aug. 9.

According to the criminal complaint, a McLean County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling in White Shield at 8:40 a.m. on Aug. 9, and responded to the scene of a fire coming from a residence on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

Wilkinson, an enrolled tribal member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, and his brother said his girlfriend and her two children were still in the home. The two aided the deputy in entering the home and in the removal of two minor children from the home. Both children were taken to a Minot hospital for treatment and Wilkinson was transported to a hospital in Bismarck.

Garrison Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire, and the woman was located in one of the home’s upstairs bedrooms.

Investigators learned from Wilkinson’s brother that Wilkinson and his girlfriend had argued the night before. An autopsy of the body determined the girlfriend sustained a broken hyoid bone, which was an indicator of strangulation. The findings of the medical indicated the deceased was not alive at the time of the fire.

When interviewed, Wilkinson denied an argument had occurred, but both children told investigators a fight had occurred the night before the fire, with one saying they had observed him choking the deceased.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators later learned the woman had purchased a camera system for the home on the recommendation of a friend. Multiple videos were later provided to investigators by the camera company, which included recordings captured on Aug. 8, the night before the fire. One of the videos showed Wilkinson assaulting the woman with furniture and household items, choking her and dragging her across the floor by her hair.

Wilkinson made an initial appearance on the charges in U.S. District Court in Bismarck on Monday. He is being held at the Ward County Jail in Minot. A preliminary and detention hearing was held Thursday.