The first-degree murder trial of Tre C. James of Piñon, Arizona, accused of killing Jamie Lynette Yazzie, began Sept. 13 with jury selection and opening statements by the prosecution and defense at the Phoenix federal courthouse.
Yazzie disappeared from Piñon, Arizona, on June 30, 2019. Her body was discovered more than two years later, on Nov. 23, 2021, on the Hopi reservation. She had been shot in the back of her head.
In early August, James was indicted on eight criminal charges. The first two counts allege James shot and killed Yazzie.
Counts 3 through 8 allege domestic violence charges against three women between 2018 and 2021 including suffocation, strangling, kidnapping, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
The trial is expected to last three weeks, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona.
True Crime Arizona featured her story on “The Forgotten.”
