A New Mexico man will spend decades in prison for the brutal murder of a woman whose body was found two years after her disappearance.
Jerry Jay, 61, pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping and second-degree murder charges in connection with the 2019 murder of his girlfriend Cecilia Finona, 59. press release By New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres. As part of the plea bargain, Jay was sentenced to his 33-year prison sentence.
“Jerry Jay is the exact opposite of Cecilia. Cecilia was a loving mother, a generous neighbor, and a renowned veteran, qualities to be appreciated in any community.” He was in the brightest light of the world, and for that he received the sentence he deserved.”
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Mark ProbascoThe Deputy Director of the Attorney General’s New Mexico office described Jay as someone who “not only killed him in cold blood, but did everything within his power to get away with it.”
Finona, a 31-year U.S. Army veteran, was last seen May 30, 2019 at her Farmington home, about 150 miles northwest of Albuquerque. policeFinona’s mother, who lived in the same residence, told authorities her daughter went missing after a fight with Jay.
Note that Jay is nowhere to be found, officials said Evidence at the residence “deeply concerned the Farmington detectives”. It is alleged that he tried to cover up the crime.
Finona’s brother, Stephen Barber, told ABC Albuquerque affiliates. KOAT TV.
“I haven’t thought of anything horrible yet,” Barber told the outlet on Thursday. [situations]”
Finona remained missing, but Jay was arrested days later in Sparks, Nevada (about 900 miles west of Farmington) and charged with stealing Fiona’s debit card.relatives said Dateline NBC He was arrested using her card at an ATM. A crime he pleaded guilty to.
Prosecutors claimed that Jay not only murdered Finona, but that he “revealed to prison mates” that he had previously murdered another girlfriend while he was in prison in Nevada. said he admitted he “learned how to do it better this time”.Torres.
Ultimately, in February 2021, a civilian stumbled upon Finona’s remains “in a secluded desert culvert just outside Las Vegas, Nevada,” Torres said. She was positively identified in June of that year and charged with murder against Jay.
Prosecutors say Jay hit Finona in the back of the head with the blunt end of an ax handle on May 31, 2019, according to the Attorney General’s Office. According to Probasco, he then left Finona, who was still alive, in the back of his truck and fled the state.
“What Jerry Jay did was more than trying to cover up the blood stains in the driveway of Cecilia’s house, he took Cecilia’s still-living body through New Mexico, Arizona, California, and finally… The point was that they actually took her until she turned around.It was taken to (just outside) Las Vegas, Nevada, and her body was disposed of in a culvert, where she remained undiscovered for another two years.” said Probusco.
Torrez said Jay used the victim’s debit card to buy tires and gas for the new truck “before dumping the body.”
The case against Jay was the first in New Mexico under the Native Killings and Disappearances Act. Passed in 2022 He also established a Missing Persons Specialist position in the Office of the Attorney General for the purpose of further missing persons prevention.
Finona was a member of the Navajo tribe.
“This case is important because the Office of the Attorney General was able to address the issue of the recent disappearance or murder of indigenous peoples, a violent crime,” Probasco said.
According to KOAT-TV, the victim’s brother now lives in the house where Finona lived.
“Sometimes I talk to her. I walk through the door and say, ‘Good morning, Sister. How are you?’ “I think she is still here. [especially] I know she’s not there anymore.
Attorney General Torres thanked San Juan County prosecutors for their work in Finona’s case.
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