New Mexico man charged in girlfriend’s murder on the Navajo Nation

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (3TV/CBS 5) -- A New Mexico man has been charged with his girlfriend’s death on the Navajo Nation. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced that they have charged Evan Haceesa, 30, with murder in Indian Country.

According to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and the FBI, Haceesa attacked his girlfriend at his home in Nageezi on Aug. 28. In that attack, Haceesa allegedly punched her until she lost consciousness and then repeatedly kicked her. Navajo police arrived to find the woman without clothes and unresponsive in a wheelbarrow outside the house. The woman was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center for her injuries, but she died about ten days later. Prosecutors say she had a broken nose, bruising throughout her body, internal bleeding, and partially collapsed lungs.

Authorities say if Haceesa is convicted, he faces up to life in prison.