between him autumn trials, Lane’s home was described as a drug-fueled environment. It is where Lane and his partner (and co-defendant) Victoria Bizzardi regularly used and sold illegal drugs. , said it found all evidence of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

“The victim of this murder was a mere child caught in the turmoil of the callous and illegal practices of a major drug dealer,” a jury found in Coconino County Superior Court in November. County attorney Bill Ring later said:

Lane’s attorney, Greg Perzik, said in an opening statement that Lane had rules about drug use in front of his granddaughter and that no one came to or lived in the double-wide trailer he rented at Paige’s. She claimed that she forbids anyone from using drugs around her.

However, Bizardie testified that he saw Lane using illegal drugs in his granddaughter’s bedroom more than once.

“I am impressed with your honesty,” Superior Court Judge Kathleen Brown Nichols told Bizzardi in her ruling on Friday, Jan. 6. I don’t know if you played the part of her grandmother… but who was taking care of her? ”

Lane’s attorney found that Bizardie was regularly selling drugs in the Navajo Nation, knew of illegal substances in the house, and that Lane’s granddaughter was unresponsive. He revealed that he was there the following morning.

On the day she died, the 6-year-old girl was taken to hospital by Bizardie, who pleaded guilty to child abuse and manslaughter and possession of illegal drugs for sale.

“Not a day goes by without thinking [the victim]’” Bizardie told the judge in her sentencing. “She will forever be in my heart. I should have done more. I was addicted to meth. … I want to work on being a better person for myself and my family.” .”

Bizardie was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison — five years on each count — two of the three five-year sentences Bizardie would serve concurrently. She is not eligible for probation.

The girl was being cared for by her 34-year-old mother, Camaya Lane, after she moved to New Mexico. Kamaya Lane was battling alcoholism and needed time to “recover,” Parzych said. The girl was also due to finish her school years in Arizona before joining her mother.

Kamaya Lane, meanwhile, was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for manslaughter and a year and a half for child abuse, both served simultaneously without the possibility of probation. rice field.

Kamaya Lane grew up in foster care and said in court she didn’t meet James Lane until she was 18. When she was 7, her mother lost custody of her due to substance abuse. . Kamaya Lane shared in court that she faced verbal, physical and sexual abuse in her foster care.

As a result, she told the judge that she feared her daughter would be put into foster care.

“I tried my best to keep a roof over my head, but I struggled with substance abuse. I used alcohol to deal with the pain,” Kamaya Rain said. “He said he was going to do good [my daughter], and I believed him. He kept telling me he was a better parent than I was and that it was better for her to have custody. ”

With tears in her eyes, Kamaya Lane expressed her regret about leaving her daughter with James Lane. I always imagined a lot for her eldest daughter. I was only 23 when she was born. It was the happiest day of my life and also the scariest day. Because I didn’t know how to be a mother because I didn’t have a mother figure in my life. ”

According to Kamaya Lane’s attorney, James Lane claimed that her daughter died of natural causes some time after her death. No, I wasn’t home.

Kamaya Lane pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The legal basis for her manslaughter charge was her knowledge of marijuana use in James Lane’s home, as well as several attempted drug sales.

Shortly after her attorney found Kamaya Lane the most innocent of the three defendants, she asked for a photo of her daughter in court and then wept openly.

“I’ve been a judge on this bench for 18, 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever had a defendant before me… I clearly regret what happened. There is no doubt in my heart, you may be the most regrettable defendant I have ever sentenced,” Brown Nichols told Kamaya Lane on Friday.

The victim had a sister who was described by doctors at the trial as a “little mother.” According to Brown Nichols, her loss and her young age weighed heavily on each defendant.