Suspect in Navajo girl’s 2016 murder to change plea
Man’s attorneys say he’s looking for deal
ALBUQUERQUE — A man accused of kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old Navajo girl, whose death stunned the nation’s largest American Indian reservation and prompted new federal legislation, is scheduled to change his plea in court.
A hearing for Tom Begaye, also a member of the Navajo Nation, to request a plea change is scheduled for Aug. 1 in a federal court in Albuquerque. His attorneys said that Begaye, who previously pleaded not guilty, was looking to strike a plea deal, but it’s unclear what he’ll change the plea to. His federal defender did not return a call and email seeking comment.
Begaye is facing counts of murder, sexual abuse and other charges in the killing of Ashlynne Mike in May 2016 on the Navajo Nation near Shiprock.
Begaye is accused of luring Ashlynne and her brother into his van at a school bus stop. He told investigators he sexually assaulted the girl and struck her twice in the head with a crowbar, and that she was still moving when he left her in the desert, according to court documents. The younger brother was able to escape.
Ashlynne’s death rattled a state that was already fatigued by episodes of harrowing violence.
Violent crime has fallen in New Mexico since the 1990s, but the high-profile killings of several children around the state in recent years has shocked New Mexicans.
Thousands of people filled the Farmington Civic Center for Ashlynne’s funeral.
The case prompted federal legislation that would expand the Amber Alert system to tribal communities after it was learned that an alert of Ashlynne’s kidnapping didn’t go out until the next day. The Navajo Nation did not have its own system in place to notify the public about missing children.
An Amber Alert system for the 27,000-squaremile reservation had been proposed years ago but was never implemented, even though the tribe was awarded $330,000 in funding as part of a U.S. Justice Department pilot project. Half the money was used to buy equipment such as megaphones and pop-up tents, but the rest went unspent.
Ashlynne’s father later filed a lawsuit against the tribal government, arguing that having an Amber Alert system in place would have saved his daughter’s life.
And U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced legislation in April expanding the notification system to tribal lands. McCain said there are more than 7,700 American Indian children listed as missing in the U.S.
Ashlynne’s death also fueled debate last year over reinstating the death penalty in New Mexico.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez invoked Ashlynne in calling on lawmakers to allow capital punishment in cases involving the deaths of children or law enforcement officers.
“When a monster rapes and murders a child or a criminal kills a police officer, the death penalty should be an option for the jury,” Martinez said.
Murders in the Navajo Nation, however, fall under federal jurisdiction. Federal courts can impose the death penalty, but it is rare for a tribal member to face the death penalty when his or her own tribal government opposes capital punishment, like the Navajo Nation does.
Ashlynne’s mother, Pamela Foster, started a petition last year urging Navajo leaders to support the death penalty.
“People say respect life as sacred, and slowly, with the creator’s help, we will find the right solutions for our people,” she wrote. “Well, the right solution is changing the criminal justice system because crimes are outrageous on native land.”