A man from South Dakota, recently charged in connection with his 14-year-old niece’s death, previously had his life prison sentence commuted by then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Prosecutors have charged Mark Milk, 51, with one count each of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death, and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, along with two counts related to concealing objects with intent to impair an official proceeding, according to the indictment obtained by Law&Crime.
The charges stem from the death of 14-year-old McKenna Wendel, whom law enforcement reported missing on March 13. She was last seen alive in her hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the early morning hours the next day. Authorities say the charged conduct took place in northern Iowa and announced the charges this week at a press conference in Sioux City, Iowa.
Searchers found the victim’s body March 19 outside Brookings, a small town roughly 55 miles due north of Sioux Falls.
A second man, 38-year-old Jon Rogness, also faces charges in the case, accused of one count each of conspiracy to conceal objects with intent to impair a proceeding and accessory after the fact.
The indictment alleges that Milk possessed and distributed “a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine” on or about March 14, around the last time McKenna was seen alive.
“Furthermore, the death of M.W. resulted from the use of the controlled substance defendant possessed with the intent to distribute and distributed,” the indictment reads, referring to the girl.
A second man, 38-year-old Jon Rogness, also faces charges in the case, accused of one count each of conspiracy to conceal objects with intent to impair a proceeding and accessory after the fact.
Though largely threadbare in detail, the charging document makes clear that Milk and Rogness also face accusations of trying to “corruptly alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal objects, with the intent to impair their integrity and availability for use in official proceedings,” all related to “the disappearance and death of M.W.”
The indictment also alleges Milk carried out “the transportation of M.W. with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.”
Authorities say Rogness helped Milk after the fact by taking possession of certain drugs and conspiring to hide other items related to McKenna’s transportation, disappearance and death.
“All charges occurred within the Northern District of Iowa,” South Dakota U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons said during the press conference, according KELO. “The charges that we brought are the most serious, readily provable.”
In 1994, a court sentenced Milk to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the October 1993 stabbing death of Shawn Peneaux, according to appellate court records.
In 2023, after serving 30 years of his sentence, Noem commuted Milk’s sentence, and Milk received parole in May 2024.
“The application of Mark Milk for commutation of sentence having been presented to me, together with facts pertaining to this case, and it appearing there from that the ends of justice would be best served by granting the Commutation of Sentence requested,” the commutation order signed by Noem reads.
By the time searchers found McKenna’s body, Milk was already in jail in South Dakota on unrelated charges of driving under the influence and eluding police, according to the Sioux Falls Police Department.
“It is fairly often that you see law enforcement oppose commutations,” South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a March press conference.
Noem represented South Dakota in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019 and then served as governor from 2019 to 2025. She resigned as governor to become secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and President Donald Trump fired her in March amid widespread backlash over a series of fatal immigration enforcement operations.
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