HELENA – A Ludlow man was found guilty of deliberate homicide for assisting in the murder of Isaac Carrier following a four-day jury trial which ended Wednesday in Prairie County District Court, Attorney General Knudsen announced today.

On January 23, 2023, Jake Kenneth Lee Burghduff, 21, assisted Sterling Brown in the murder of Isaac Carrier, the ex-husband of Sterling Brown’s wife. Brown’s wife, Katie Bivens, was engaged in a custody battle with Carrier for their son. The State alleges that both Brown and Burghduff drove from South Dakota to Fallon the night of the murder and Brown had the intent of carrying out the homicide. Burghduff admitted that he knew what Brown intended to do, but he did not try to stop him.

Burghduff was initially charged with one count of Arson and one count of Tampering With and Fabricating Physical Evidence until evidence retrieved by the State suggested Burghduff was also guilty of Deliberate Homicide. Video evidence showed Burghduff purchasing and filling up a two gallon gasoline container at a gas station, and that gas was believed to have been what accelerated the fire that was lit in Carrier’s apartment complex after Sterling Brown had shot him in the head. Additionally, Snapchat messages following the incident suggest both Burghduff and Brown tried to corroborate stories and a text message from Brown to Burghduff suggested Burghduff knew Brown’s intentions to kill Carrier.

Sentencing has been set for 3:00 on October 17, 2023

Prosecution Services Bureau Chief and Assistant Attorney General Daniel Guzynski and Assistant Attorney General Meghann Paddock prosecuted the case with Prairie County Attorney Daniel Rice. The case was investigated by the Prairie County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Montana State Crime Lab.