FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 8, 2025

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

Attorney General Jackley Announces New Evidence Leads to Prosecutor’s Dismissal of Charges Against Yankton Man

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the discovery of new forensic evidence has led to the prosecutor’s dismissal of charges against Theodore Kranig, Jr., 19, in the 2024 stabbing death of a Yankton man.

“Forensic testing of evidence conducted by the Attorney General’s State Forensic Lab in the Yankton stabbing case raises questions as to the defendant’s guilt at this time,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Prosecutors have an ethical obligation to pursue justice and simply not count convictions at the expense of that pursuit.”

Kranig, Jr. was charged with Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter in the First Degree in the incident that happened Dec. 13, 2024 at a Yankton residence. The defendant was released Wednesday from the Yankton County Jail where he was being held.

Attorney General Jackley said the case remains under investigation.

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