PHOENIX, ARIZONA — A federal judge in Phoenix rejected A Plea agreement That would have allowed a man who admitted to beating a Navajo elder and leaving her for dead to avoid further prison time.
Preston Henry Tolth, 26, will face trial on carjacking and assault charges in connection with the 2021 disappearance of Ella Mae Begaye. No trial date has been set.
Under the agreement, Tolth was to be sentenced to three years in prison in exchange for admitting his role in the crime and pleading guilty to one count of burglary.
Begay’s case has been received National media attention It helped highlight the broader crisis of Indigenous people who have gone missing or been murdered. Nearly five years after her disappearance, Begay has not been found.
The rare decision to reject the plea agreement followed painful testimony from Begay’s son and niece, who told the court that Tolth should not be released without revealing Begay’s location.
Ella Mae Begay’s daughter reported her mother missing in June 2021 from her home in Sweetwater, Arizona, a small community in the northern part of the Navajo Nation.
Tulth, whose father was dating Begay’s sister, initially denied involvement in her disappearance. In subsequent questioning, he admitted to stealing Begay’s truck with her inside, punching her repeatedly and leaving her on the side of the road.
Tulth sold the truck in exchange for money and drugs, according to the agreement.
Tolth was scheduled to face trial in 2024, but a federal judge dealt prosecutors a heavy blow when he ruled his confession inadmissible, saying Tolth had been illegally coerced by an FBI agent who lied about evidence law enforcement presented against him after Tolth invoked his right to remain silent.
In a sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors said suppressing Tolth’s confession weakened the government’s case and that the plea agreement would provide Begay’s family with more “certainty and finality” than a trial with scattered evidence.