Navajo Girl's Killer Expected To Get Life Term Under Plea Deal

FARMINGTON, NM — Tom Begaye, the man who pleaded guilty to luring an 11-year-old girl into a van, sexually assaulting her and then murdering her in Navajo Nation, is slated to be sentenced Friday. Begayeis expected to receive a life sentence under a plea deal in the May 2016 killing of Ashlynne Mike.

Begaye lured Mike and her brother into his van before he killed the girl and allowed the boy escape, authorities said. Ashlynne was reported missing but an Amber Alert wasn't sent until the next day.

Her body was found near the Arizona-New Mexico border. The case prompted calls to expand the Amber Alert system and the death penalty to U.S. tribal communities.

The Navajo Nation and many other Native American tribes outlaw the death penalty.

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS, Associated Press

Photo credit: San Juan County, N.M. Detention Center via AP