Man could avoid more prison time with guilty plea in Navajo woman's disappearance

EDGEWOOD, N.M. (AP) — A man charged in connection to the 2021 disappearance of a Navajo woman pleaded guilty Thursday to robbery, marking the latest turn in a case that been emblematic of the epidemic of killings and disappearances in Native American communities.

Preston Henry Tolth appeared before a federal judge in Phoenix. Tolth, who has been in custody since 2023, will not spend any additional time in prison if the court accepts the terms of the plea agreement reached with prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege that Tolth assaulted Ella Mae Begay, stole her Ford F-150 pickup truck and drove it across state lines. In the plea agreement, he admitted to punching Begay in the face several times and leaving her on the side of the road before selling her truck for money and drugs.

Begay’s case helped bring national attention to the high rate of violence faced by Native people, providing fuel for tribal leaders and victim advocates as they continued pushing for law enforcement resources and more cooperation for investigation across jurisdictional lines.

There have been marches, listening sessions and congressional hearings in recent years, and federal authorities have funneled more investigators and prosecutors to field offices in key locations around the United States in hopes of solving cases and prosecuting offenders.

Still, Begay has never been found and her family remains heartbroken.

Known in her community as a master rug weaver, Begay lived in Sweetwater, Arizona, a town on the Navajo Nation not far from the Four Corners Monument. Gerald Begay, the eldest of her three children, remembered his mother as someone who was always willing to lend a hand, even to a stranger.

Gerald Begay listened to Thursday’s court proceeding via phone from Denver. He called the plea deal a “slap on the wrist” for Tolth and said mistakes made by law enforcement during interrogations cost his family a just outcome.

Gerald Begay called on authorities to find his mother’s remains.

“She belongs in the community where she resided,” he said. “If I could bring my mother home, I could at least have some closure.”

Timothy Courchaine, the interim U.S. Attorney for the district of Arizona, declined a request by for an interview.

Attorneys representing Tolth did not respond to a request for comment.

Tolth initially entered a plea of not guilty to assault and carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury — charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 and 25 years in prison, respectively.

In August 2025, a federal appeals court ruled that a confession made by Tolth was not admissible in court because officers did not honor his decision to stop speaking during the interrogation and instead persuaded him to waive his right to remain silent.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 9 in Phoenix.