Shiprock Woman Pleads Guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter

ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock woman pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter killing her daughter.

According to court documents, on October 24, 2022, Maylene John, 35, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation at the time of the offense, stabbed her 7-year-old daughter in the heart with a knife, causing her death. John was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the incident.

John pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. At sentencing, she faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Upon her release from prison, John will be subject to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caitlin L. Dillon and Eliot Neal are prosecuting the case.