A federal court in Phoenix has thrown out a plea deal that would have freed a man who confessed to attacking a Navajo elder and abandoning her to die.
Preston Henry Tolth, 26, must now stand trial on carjacking and assault charges connected to Ella Mae Begay’s 2021 vanishing. Court officials have not scheduled a trial date.
The proposed deal would have given Tolth credit for three years already behind bars in return for admitting his involvement and entering a guilty plea to one robbery charge.
Begay’s case drew nationwide coverage and brought attention to the widespread problem of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Almost five years have passed since her disappearance, and she remains missing.
The unusual move to throw out the plea deal came after heartbreaking statements from Begay’s son and niece, who argued Tolth should remain locked up until he discloses where Begay can be found.
Begay’s daughter contacted authorities about her mother’s disappearance in June 2021 from their Sweetwater, Arizona home, located in the northern region of the Navajo Nation.
Tolth, whose father had been in a relationship with Begay’s sister, first claimed he had no connection to her vanishing. During subsequent questioning, he admitted to taking Begay’s pickup truck while she was inside, repeatedly striking her, and abandoning her alongside a road.
According to the plea agreement, Tolth exchanged the vehicle for money and illegal substances.
Tolth was scheduled for trial in 2024, but prosecutors suffered a significant setback when a federal judge ruled his admission could not be used as evidence. The judge determined an FBI agent had improperly pressured Tolth by making false claims about available evidence after Tolth had requested to remain silent.
In court documents, federal prosecutors explained that losing Tolth’s confession had damaged their case and argued the plea deal would give Begay’s family more closure than a trial with limited evidence.
