The suspect drove the nine-year-old brother to a highway and told him to get out.
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An Ashlynne Mike suspect has been arrested, and an Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman and Navajo Nation statement have implicated him in the death of the 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped from the Navajo reservation in New Mexico over the weekend, Reuters reported.
Both children are members of the Navajo nation. A frantic search for Ashlynne followed.
“He was so exhausted and just crying and crying for his sister”.
“In light of this incident, we are asking our parents to be with their children when their school bus picks up and drops them off to help ensure their safety”.
Not wanting his sister to go alone, her brother jumped in too.
Tips flooded in from across the reservation that spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah as well as the San Juan Chapter where Ashlynne lived. Her body was found the next day.
Federal Magistrate Judge Paul Briones formally read the charges against Begaye – murder and two counts of kidnapping of a minor.
He told investigators he removed the girl’s clothing with the intention of sexually assaulting her, according to the affidavit.
If convicted he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
People outside the court in Farmington shouted “b******” and “go to hell” as the defendant was driven away by authorities after the hearing.
“We will solve this case and give Ashlynne Mike’s family the justice they deserve”. Authorities identified him 27-year-old Tom Begaye.
The girl and her 9-year-old brother were picked up by a man described as a stranger who lured them into a van by offering to take them to watch a movie. “He said the vehicle just sped off, and as it was driving off he just saw Ashlynne waving toward him”.
“Once someone put it out there that there was this missing child, then the word just spread from there”, he said.
Council Delegate Amber Crotty (Beclabito/ Cove/ Gadi’i’áhi/To’Koi, Red Valley/ Tooh Haltsooi/ Toadlena/Two Grey Hills/ Tsé ałnáoz’t’I’í) along with Council Delegate Nathaniel Brown (Kayenta/ Chilchinbeto/ Dennehotso) were the only Navajo Nation leaders that attended the vigil and said they will assist the community in any way they can as well as advocating for stiffer laws.
An Amber Alert for Ashlynne was issued around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Tribal President Russell Begaye says children need to be taught about “the dangers of strangers” and that adults shouldn’t let children out of their sight for extended periods of time.
In his statement, Begaye stood behind the Amber Alert system in Navajo Nation.
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Heartbroken, the community paused Tuesday night for a moment of silence. The 13 mile marker is posted off Navajo Route 36 near the San Juan Chapter, N.M., on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Ashlynne was fifth-grader at Ojo Amarillo elementary school in Fruitland. In Albuquerque, a mural was created on 2nd Street in downtown that displays her name and says “Rest in Peace”.
