Key facts
- Preston Tolth, who admitted to robbing Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay, has been released from prison.
- Tolth was sentenced to five years for robbery, with credit for time already served.
- Begay disappeared five years ago on the same day Tolth was released.
- Begay's family was shocked by the release, feeling it was a 'slap in the face'.
- The Federal Bureau of Prisons stated the release followed federal sentencing law and policy, including credit for good conduct and time served.
Five years after Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay disappeared from her home, Preston Tolth, the man who admitted to robbing her, stealing her truck, and leaving her on the roadside, has been released from prison. Tolth pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced on May 8 to five years, receiving credit for three years already served. His release on Monday shocked Begay's relatives, who had expected him to remain incarcerated until at least 2028.
Begay, a 62-year-old weaver and grandmother, vanished from Sweetwater on the Navajo Nation. Her disappearance became symbolic of the crisis of violence against Indigenous people, prompting searches by family and community members, and drawing national media attention. Law enforcement initially investigated Tolth, whose father was dating Begay's sister. Tolth confessed to stealing Begay's truck with her inside and assaulting her, but a federal judge later ruled the confession inadmissible due to FBI procedural errors. Federal prosecutors then negotiated a plea agreement.
According to Scott Taylor, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Tolth's release was calculated in full accordance with federal sentencing law and policy, including credit for good conduct and time served under a statute that counts time after a crime but before sentencing. Court records indicate Tolth was incarcerated on unrelated charges between the time of the robbery and his arrest, which were later dismissed. Mark Osler, an expert on sentencing, noted that the Bureau of Prisons often shortens sentences to reduce overcrowding and recidivism, and does not typically notify victims' families of releases.
Begay's family has pointed to Tolth's early release as a "miscarriage of justice." Mary Kathryn Nagle, an attorney advocating for the family, stated that while Begay's case received more attention than most, the outcome is emblematic of widespread failures in investigating cases involving missing or murdered Indigenous people. Begay has never been found. On the anniversary of her disappearance, Begay's niece, Seraphine Warren, walked over 100 miles carrying one of her aunt's weavings, expressing her devastation at the news of Tolth's release.