Former Oklahoma senator and Eufaula city councilman sentenced 41 months after causing death of girlfriend

Dan Kirby, a former Oklahoma senator and Eufaula City Councilman, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison today, more than a year after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the motorcycle accident that killed his girlfriend, Sheryl Bichsel.

Kirby exhibited little reaction when U.S. District Court Judge John F. Heil III read his sentence to the court gallery, which had about three dozen individuals in it.

Heil ordered Kirby, 66, to be promptly placed into the custody of US marshals, eliciting subdued cheering from those of Bichsel's acquaintances who had given victim impact statements in court.

Although Kirby's lawyers requested a delayed surrender date, Heil observed that it had been more than a year since his conviction. Two officers in the courtroom ordered Kirby to remove his tie, belt, and jacket, which were then handed over to his family. He was led out of the courtroom, handcuffed behind his back.

Kirby, a Muscogee Nation citizen, crashed his motorcycle near Lake Eufaula State Park in July 2022, with Bichsel riding on the back. Kirby was unharmed, but Bichsel, a Choctaw Nation citizen, died.

Because Kirby is a tribal member, only the Muscogee Nation and the federal government have jurisdiction over the case.

Kirby was tried for three days in June 2023 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Jurors determined that Kirby was intoxicated to the extent of impairment when the deadly accident happened, and convicted him of involuntary manslaughter.