ASHEVILLE, NC – An Easley man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for committing murder on federal land, according to U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose.
23-year-old Forrest Dakota Hill will serve 200 months for murdering a man inside a church in 2015.
Hill was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
Hill was accused of fatally stabbing a man on March 29, 2015, inside Oconaluftee Baptist Church, commonly known as the Smokemont Baptist Church, located within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
According to court records, Hill, the victim, and another person drove to the church together, and over the course of their visit, Hill stabbed the victim with a knife during an unprovoked attack, causing the victim’s death.
Following the fatal stabbing, Hill and his companion left the church and returned to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino where they picked up another person and then headed to a local hotel.
According to court records, the victim was stabbed at least 16 times in the chest, back, neck and elsewhere.
Hill pleaded guilty to a second degree murder charge in April of 2016.
He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
Hill is not eligible for parole.
