Navajo woman charged with 4-year-old boy's death

Monday, October 15, 2007  

A woman from the Navajo Nation has been charged in tribal and federal court in connection with the death of her four-year-old nephew.

Evelyn James, 48, allegedly told authorities that she beat Alberto Johnny James and stuffed his body in a portable ice chest. The boy apparently died on October 4 but his body wasn't discovered until last week.

Alberto Johnny, whose nickname was “Bobo," was in the care of James and her husband. Family members had noticed the boy was missing and eventually confronted James, who allegedly admitted to abusing the boy in letters to relatives.

James, who lives west of Gallup, New Mexico, was charged in Navajo Nation court with criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of a minor and in federal court with single count of murder.

Get the Story:
Body found dead in cooler (The Gallup Independent 10/13)
Gruesome story told (The Gallup Independent 10/13)
FBI: 4-Year-Old Found Dead Inside Cooler (AP 10/14)