ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The man accused in the deadly abduction of a Navajo girl along her school bus route is scheduled to be arraigned on murder and other charges in federal court.
The hearing for 27-year-old Tom Begaye is scheduled for Tuesday in Albuquerque. Federal authorities say he kidnapped 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike and her younger brother on the afternoon of May 2 as they played by a canal near their home on the Navajo Nation.
A criminal complaint says Begaye took the children to a desolate area, where he bludgeoned Ashlynne and left her to die. The boy was later freed.
The girl's body was found the next morning. Authorities announced Begaye's arrest later the same day.
An indictment charges Begaye with murder, aggravated sexual abuse, kidnapping resulting in death and kidnapping of a minor.
