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The woman accused of a fatal Arlee beating is back behind bars

Darnell Reevis
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MISSOULA — A woman who is accused of beating her uncle to death with a baseball bat last summer in Arlee is behind bars in Yellowstone County.

Darnell Reevis, who is listed as a transient, was taken into custody by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and appeared in a Billings courtroom on Monday.

Reevis allegedly tried to assault her mother Mary Big Sam at her home in Arlee on June 25, 2020. At that point, Reevis’ uncle Paul Big Sam intervened and an altercation ensued.

Law enforcement officers responded to the incident, and Reevis was taken to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula for a laceration to her face caused by head-butting her uncle.

The following day, Reevis returned to her mother’s home where prosecutors said in charging documents that she found her uncle sitting in his car.

Reevis then retrieved a metal baseball bat, broke the windows of his vehicle, beat him with the bat, and left him in the yard without medical care for at least four hours.

The victim, Paul Big Sam, passed away as he was being taken via ambulance to St. Patrick Hospital. Law enforcement believes he died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Reevis was then charged with deliberate homicide and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. A judge set her bail at $1 million.

Click here to read the court documents (PDF).

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