A Shiprock woman has pleaded guilty under a federal plea agreement to manslaughter in the death of her daughter.
Maylene John, 35, was under the influence of methamphetamine on Oct. 24, 2022, when she stabbed her 7-year-old daughter in the heart with a knife, killing the child, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
John pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and faces up to 15 years in federal prison. When released, she will serve three years of supervised release, the news release states.
The FBI’s Farmington Resident Agency investigated the case with help from the Navajo Police Department and the Department of Criminal Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caitlin L. Dillon and Eliot Neal are handling the prosecution.
