Boyfriend Convicted in Navajo Woman's Murder that Symbolized Plight of Slain and Missing Indigenous Women
Tre C. James, 31, was convicted of murdering Jamie Lynette Yazzie, and was also convicted on domestic violence charges against other women
When Jamie Lynette Yazzie disappeared in the summer of 2019, her story quickly became about more than one woman. She soon came to represent a tragically vast group of missing and abused Native American women, whose stories often largely disappear with them.
Then Yazzie’s body was found on Hopi reservation land two years later in November 2021 — and something statistically uncommon happened: Someone was arrested for her fatal shooting. This week, that man, Tre C. James, 31, was convicted of her first-degree murder, along with multiple counts of domestic violence against three previous intimate and dating partners between 2018-2021, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona.
Yazzie’s parents, grandmother and other relatives attended the seven-day trial, prosecutors said.
Related: Boyfriend Accused of Murdering Navajo Woman Who Vanished and Was Found Dead 2 Years Later
“Vindicating the rights of missing and murdered indigenous persons requires all the energy and compassion we have,” United States Attorney for the District of Arizona Gary Restaino said in a statement. “That means not only investigation and prosecution of tough cases, but also community engagement, cultural competence, and active listening to next of kin and other family members.”
The Bureau of Indian Affairs notes a “need for focused data” on missing indigenous women, saying that “research data shows that national averages hide the extremely high rates of murder against American Indian and Alaska Native women.” For instance, the National Crime Information Center tracked 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in 2016. Of those, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) had cataloged just 116 of those cases, according to the agency.
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Yazzie had been listed as a missing person by both Federal and Tribal law enforcement, and over the course of law enforcement’s two-year search for the 32-year-old mother of three sons, investigators “uncovered several acts of domestic violence that James committed against other women,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office press statement. Prosecutors added six more related charges to the indictment as a result of their findings.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is committed to addressing the persistent violence endured by Native American families and communities in the state of Arizona,” the office said in the statement, calling the plight of “missing or murdered indigenous persons, and acts of domestic violence” against them to be “a priority” for the office.
James’s conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. The sentencing hearing is slated for January 29.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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