Lummi Nation Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Strangling Ex-Partner

SEATTLE — A federal judge sentenced 49-year-old Marc Cagey Oreiro of the Lummi Nation to five years in prison for strangling his former intimate partner during a violent assault on the Lummi Nation Indian Reservation. U.S. District Judge Lauren King also ordered three years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine, and restitution will be determined later.

Oreiro pleaded guilty in June to assaulting the victim on May 23, 2025. He already held a tribal court conviction for assaulting the same woman, and she later told law enforcement he had assaulted her roughly ten additional times that were never reported.

The Assault

Court records show Oreiro pushed the victim onto a bed in the master bedroom of their home and strangled her with his hands and forearm, cutting off her ability to breathe. He then punched her repeatedly in the head, back, stomach, side, and ear, struck her in the ribs with his knee, and knelt on her chest while he threatened to kill her. She later disclosed that he attempted to sexually assault her after the attack.

A housemate called police, and Lummi Police officers arrived and searched the residence. Oreiro physically fought with the officers during the search. Officers found the victim crying in the master bedroom closet, where Oreiro had told her to hide. She went to a local hospital for treatment, including bruising to her face, ears, and neck.

A Pattern Dating to 1995

Prosecutors say Oreiro’s history of domestic violence stretches back nearly three decades and has escalated over time, even though he has spent little time behind bars for it.

“Mr. Oreiro had his first domestic violence conviction in 1995 when he was just 18 years old. His incidents of domestic violence assault have worsened since then, but Mr. Oreiro has spent little time behind bars. This above-guidelines sentence, with three years of federal supervision to follow, is aimed at breaking the cycle of violence that has threatened those closest to this defendant.”

— Charles Neil Floyd, First Assistant U.S. Attorney

Prosecutors Warned of Escalating Danger

In their sentencing memo, prosecutors urged the court to hand down five years, pointing to research on the risks strangulation survivors face and to Oreiro’s record of ignoring court orders.

“Oreiro’s conduct in this case presents serious concerns for the safety of the (victim). Those, like the (victim), who have been non-fatally strangled by an abusive partner are eight times more likely to become a subsequent victim of homicide at the hands of that same partner. Moreover, Oreiro has proven that he flouts conditions imposed by the courts, including post-conviction no-contact orders.”

— From prosecutors’ sentencing memo

Judge King echoed that warning from the bench. She told Oreiro that non-fatal strangulation ranks among the most dangerous forms of domestic assault and that his conduct reflected a broader pattern of control.

“Non-fatal strangulation is among the most dangerous of domestic assaults. This is about as serious as it gets… You continue to treat your intimate partners or former intimate partners as your property, as if you had the right to control them and use deadly force against them.”

— U.S. District Judge Lauren King

Judge Praises the Victim

Judge King also spoke directly to the victim during sentencing, calling her brave and telling her that no one deserves the treatment she endured. The judge added that the victim’s decision to report the assault to law enforcement may have protected other women from becoming future victims, and that the pattern of violence would likely have continued without intervention from the justice system.

Oreiro was first charged in tribal court before the FBI opened its own investigation. A federal criminal complaint followed, and a grand jury returned an indictment on June 25, 2025. He has remained in custody at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac since his federal arrest on June 4, 2025.

Investigation and Prosecution

The FBI Safe Trails Task Force and the Lummi Nation Police Department jointly investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Celia Lee and Carolyn Forstein prosecuted it, with Lee also serving as the U.S. Attorney’s Office Tribal Liaison.

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