Window Rock Man is Sentenced to 25 Years for Second Degree Murder

PHOENIX—Lee White, 54, of Window Rock, Arizona, a member of the Navajo Nation  Indian Tribe, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake to 300 months in prison for killing his estranged wife, a 51-year-old member of the Navajo Nation. On December 21, 2009, White pleaded guilty in federal court to Second Degree Murder.

The facts show that on January 2, 2009, White borrowed a .22 rifle from another individual and confronted his estranged wife in the parking lot at her place of employment. White got into the victim’s car and after she drove a short distance, White argued with her then fired the .22 rifle three times, hitting the victim twice in the head and once in the chest. White left the scene of the shooting without calling for emergency assistance, and the victim died at the scene from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI, the Window Rock Police Department, and the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement - Criminal Investigations. The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-09-8013-PCT-NVW
RELEASE NUMBER: 2010-108(White)