Man charged in White Shield MMIP case to go to trial

Derick Wilkinson’s trial set for April 7

Jolan Kruse

March 9, 2026

A trial date has been set for Derick Wilkinson, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend, Alexia De La Cerda, in White Shield, North Dakota, on Aug. 9, 2024.

A home security camera allegedly captured Wilkinson strangling De La Cerda, a Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation citizen. An affidavit from an FBI agent claims he then locked her children in a room and set the house on fire.

Wilkinson’s trial will take place April 7 in Bismarck. It was scheduled days after a federal judge rejected a plea deal that would have scrubbed Wilkinson’s murder charge.

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