Coroner: Victim was bludgeoned to death

The Box Elder man found dead last weekend near a trash dump on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation died of blunt force trauma to the head, the Chouteau County Coroner's Office said Thursday.

An autopsy performed by state medical examiner Gary Dale showed that Alton "Muck-Tune" Boyd Alexander, 30, had been bludgeoned to death, coroner Ron Saville said.

It is not clear what weapon was used to deliver the blows that killed Alexander, Saville said. In addition to the injuries that directly contributed to his death, Alexander had also been stabbed, he added.

Alexander was killed last Friday. His body was found about a quarter-mile from his house on a dirt road connecting Wild Rose Village to a trash dump.

The FBI said it has identified several juvenile suspects in the killing, but has made no arrests. Agents are also reviewing physical evidence, including a bloody fingerprint found on a vehicle that was seized as evidence, the FBI said.

Dan Vierthaler, a supervisor in the FBI's Billings office, confirmed this morning that a port-mortem examination has been conducted and that a cause of death has been determined, but declined to comment about the results.

Lori Stiffarm, Alexander's common-law wife, said the couple had been at home sleeping when five teens came to their house looking for Alexander about 9:45 last Friday night. After telling Stiffarm that he would be right back, Alexander got into a white car the teens were driving, she said.

About 11 p.m., Stiffarm said, she could see headlights at the dump where Alexander's body was later found.