Shiprock man pleads guilty to murder in Indian Country

             ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Tavor Tom, a resident of Shiprock, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty in federal court today to the second-degree murder of a tribal member. 

             In the plea agreement, Tom admitted to committing this offense on July 1, 2019, in San Juan County on the Navajo Nation.  Tom repeatedly stabbed the victim in her home.  After the murder, Tom stole the victim’s car and fled the scene, eventually crashing into a fence on the side of a highway.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, Tom faces up to life in federal prison.

             The FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Spindle is prosecuting the case.