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Guilty plea a 'step closer to closure,' Mika Westwolf's mother says

“This is a step closer to closure, you know.”

That’s how Carissa Heavy Runner says she felt when the woman accused of striking and killing her daughter pleaded “guilty” in late October. Twenty-nine-year-old Sunny K. White is convicted of vehicular homicide, which carries up to a 30-year prison sentence under Montana law. Under a plea deal, other charges of child endangerment and drug possession were dropped.

Heavy Runner says hearing White say “guilty” felt like a measure of justice.

“It did make me tear up, and that was just something that made it more real,” Heavy Runner told MTPR in a phone interview. “And, I knew that she couldn’t take back what she said.” 

Heavy Runner is Blackfeet and Diné. Her daughter Mika was Blackfeet, Cree, Diné and Klamath. She says her daughter loved poetry, snowboarding, shooting videos and spending time with her family. After Mika died, Heavy Runner formed the “Mika Matters” movement, urging law enforcement to find and prosecute the person who struck her.

A website took shape to memorialize Mika and provide updates on the case. Heavy Runner’s Facebook page swelled to more than 1,500 followers and became a hub for people to share information and support for other missing and murdered Indigenous people and their families.

Heavy Runner says White’s sentencing will mark the beginning of a new chapter for “Mika Matters.”

“What I’m hoping is to give families hope and empower them to not give up,” Heavy Runner said. “Keep sharing your loved one’s story, speaking the truth — use your voice, don’t be scared.”

Sunny White’s attorney says she can’t comment on the case until after sentencing. That’s scheduled for January 31st in Lake County District Court.

Austin graduated from the University of Montana’s journalism program in May 2022. He came to MTPR as an evening newscast intern that summer, and jumped at the chance to join full-time as the station’s morning voice in Fall 2022.

He is best reached by emailing austin.amestoy@umt.edu.
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