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Man could avoid more prison time with guilty plea in Navajo woman’s disappearance
Tolth admitted assaulting Ella Mae Begay, stealing and selling her truck for money and drugs in a case highlighting native community violence, prosecutors said.
- On Thursday, Preston Henry Tolth pleaded guilty to robbery in federal court in Phoenix, admitting to assaulting Ella Mae Begay, leaving her roadside, and selling her truck for money and drugs.
- Ella Mae Begay lived in Sweetwater, Arizona and was known locally as a master rug weaver; her eldest son, Gerald Begay, followed Thursday's hearing from Denver and remembered her as always willing to help others.
- Tolth initially entered a not-guilty plea to assault and carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury that carry maximum penalties of 10 and 25 years, while a federal appeals court ruling in August 2025 excluded his confession.
- A sentencing hearing is set for April 9 in Phoenix, and if accepted by the court, Preston Henry Tolth will not serve extra time, which Gerald Begay called a 'slap on the wrist.'
- There have been marches, listening sessions and congressional hearings in recent years, and federal authorities have funneled more investigators and prosecutors to field offices to address violence against Native people.
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Associated Press News+15 Reposted by 15 other sources
Man could avoid more prison time with guilty plea in Navajo woman's disappearance
A man charged in connection with the 2021 disappearance of a Navajo woman has pleaded guilty to robbery, marking the latest turn in a case that been emblematic of the epidemic of killings and disappearances in Native American communities.
·United States
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Total News Sources17
Leaning Left8Leaning Right1Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Left
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources lean Left
53% Left
L 53%
C 40%
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