A woman, Kendra Panteah, pleaded guilty to kidnapping a man in New Mexico in July 2019. The victim was locked in a trunk and fatally stabbed while trying to escape. Panteah did not kill the victim, but was involved in the crime along with Gilbert John Jr., who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for second-degree murder. Panteah and John used drugs, including methamphetamine, before the killing. Panteah stated in court documents that after the victim was beaten up and put in the trunk, she drove with him in the car to buy beer when he began trying to grab the wheel. She sought help from John, and they drove to a remote location where he fatally stabbed the victim with a machete. Panteah faces a sentence of at least 10 years in prison. Her attorney attributed the events to substance and alcohol abuse in Native American communities. Both Panteah, who is Zuni, and John, who is Navajo, wrote in plea agreements, indicating their Native American ethnicity. The attorney emphasized the impact of drug and alcohol abuse in the case and believed that sober individuals would not have committed the crime. Panteah’s sentencing is set for January 27.
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Woman confesses to murdering man trapped in trunk and stabbed with machete
