NAVAJO MAN FROM BREADSPRINGS, N.M., ARRESTED ON FEDERAL MURDER CHARGE

ALBUQUERQUE – Troy Livingston, 18, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Breadsprings, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., this morning on a criminal complaint charging him with murdering a Navajo woman with malice aforethought.  Livingston remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for April 9, 2019.

            The criminal complaint alleges that Livingston beat the victim to death with a flashlight and his feet at a residence Breadsprings, which is located in the Navajo Indian Reservation, on April 6, 2019.  According to the criminal complaint, the victim was Livingston’s girlfriend. 

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Livingston faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.  Charges in criminal complaints are only accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

The case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Cowen is prosecuting the case.