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State charges against Jeremy and Tyler Reece in the 2015 death of Rick Holt are being dismissed.

Investigators claimed that the brothers killed the Pawhuska oil man and buried his remains on an oil lease.  According to a Facebook post by the Bigheart Times, Special Judge Stuart Tate affirmed his past ruling on Friday that the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction to prosecute the murder case.  The District Attorney's Office agreed that Holt was killed on Indian land and that the Reece brothers are enrolled members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. That means the crime falls under the federal Indian Major Crimes Act.

The oilman was reported missing September 8, 2015, and Osage County Sheriff's deputies exhumed his body from a shallow grave on property just south of Wynona a few days later.

Court records show Holt was in a relationship with Jeremy Reece's ex-wife.

The state has filed an appeal.  The Reeces will continue to face kidnapping and felony conspiracy charges in state court.