Thoreau Woman Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder

ALBUQUERQUE – Second defendant pleads guilty to the brutal 2020 murder of a Gamerco, New Mexico woman. Stacey Yellowhorse, 53, of Thoreau, New Mexico pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to second degree murder.

Yellowhorse’s co-defendant, Timothy Chischilly, pleaded guilty in federal court to second-degree murder on Feb. 6, 2024.

According to court documents, on Jan. 23, 2020, Yellowhorse and her then boyfriend, Chischilly, invited Jane Doe over to their house in Mexican Springs, New Mexico. During the night, Yellowhorse and Chischilly restrained Jane Doe and bludgeoned her to death. Afterwards, Yellowhorse and Chischilly burned Jane Doe’s remains.

The Court ordered that Yellowhorse remain in detention pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Yellowhorse faces up to life in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Per the terms of her plea agreement, Yellowhorse faces 10 to 20 years at sentencing.

There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Gallup Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Brawley and Tavo Hall are prosecuting the case.

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