Wolfs faces new charges in daughter's death

A couple accused of transporting and hiding the remains of a young girl before they were arrested near Havre face new charges.

Prosecutors in Bryan County in Oklahoma this week charged Denise Wolf with child abuse and child abuse by neglect, and Abel Wolf with enabling child abuse and child abuse by neglect.

The couple is accused of transporting the body of Cheyenne Wolf, the daughter of Abel Wolf and stepdaughter of Denise Wolf, from Oklahoma to Oregon, where they hid the body. They had moved from Oregon to Montana and were living south of Havre when they were arrested and later extradited back to Oklahoma.

The couple is accused of failing to get medical care for the girl, who suffered from spina bifida and required special care, after she was injured by family members and died by the next day. The charging document says the couple first hid the body of Cheyenne Wolf in a shed, then buried her under their front porch at their residence in Oklahoma when the body began to decompose and smell.

After people began to ask where Cheyenne Wolf had gone, Abel and Denise Wolf dug up the body, put it into three large sealable plastic bags, put the bags into plastic containers and then transported them with them the family to Havre.

Early in 2009, Abel Wolf took the remains to Oregon, first hiding them in a chicken coop then later in a storage unit, the document said.

The Wolfs were arrested July 2, 2009. in Hill County south of Havre on County Road 405 near the border of Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

In Monday's amended charges, Denise Wolf now faces two felony counts of child abuse and felony counts of child abuse by neglect and of unlawful removal of a dead body.

Abel Wolf faces two felony counts of enabling child abuse and felony counts of child abuse by neglect and of unlawful removal of a dead body.

The charging documents accuse Denise Wolf of tying the then 11-year-old Cheyenne Wolf to her bed by her wrists and ankles many times to restrict her movement while sleeping between 2007 and 2008. They also accuse Denise Wolf of tying her to a chair as a punishment during that time, sometimes leaving the girl alone while tied up.

The neglect charge accuses Denise and Abel Wolf of failing to seek medical care for the girl.