ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, Oct. 25, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Four Utahns have been indicted in federal court in New Mexico on kidnapping and conspiracy charges.
Kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping charges have been filed against Seraphine Warren-Begay, also known as Seraphine Warren, 42, of Tooele; her husband Orlando Begay, 36, of Salt Lake City; her sister Josephine Bekay, 46, of Gusher, Utah; and Bekay’s husband Nelton Alex Bekay, 48, of Gusher.
All four are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.
As the indictment reads, on March 26, 2021, Warren-Begay used Facebook to research and locate the victim, John Doe, before the group drove to Doe’s residence in Arizona, the release issued by U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Alexander M.M. Uballez said.
“There, the group entered John Doe’s residence and hit him on top of the head with a blunt force object and shot him with paintball guns before handcuffing him and placing him in the back of one of their vehicles.
“The group then transported John Doe across state lines from Arizona to Shiprock, New Mexico. The group eventually released John Doe in Farmington, New Mexico on April 1, 2021.”
The four Utahns face possible life imprisonment on the charges. The case was investigated by the FBI and Navajo Nation police.
Neither the motive nor the name of the victim were included in the press release.
Warren-Begay gained national attention in October 2022 when she walked from her missing aunt’s home in New Mexico to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of the plight of missing indigenous Americans. Her aunt, Ella Mae Begay, went missing in June 2021.
