Three Indicted in 2020 Nenahnezad Murder, Federal Charges Filed
Federal prosecutors announced on November 24, 2025 that three people have been indicted in the 2020 killing of Zachariah Juwaun Shorty in Nenahnezad on the Navajo Nation, a case that had remained unsolved for more than five years. The development highlights sustained federal attention on violent crimes affecting Tribal communities and raises local questions about justice, public safety, and cooperation between tribal and federal authorities.
Federal authorities revealed last week that three individuals have been indicted on charges connected to the July 2020 death of Zachariah Juwaun Shorty in Nenahnezad, New Mexico. The indictment was filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico on November 24, 2025. Austin Begay, 31, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, is accused of using a semiautomatic pistol to shoot and kill Shorty with malice aforethought and premeditation and is charged with first degree murder in Indian Country. Jaymes Fage, 38, also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, is charged with aiding and abetting the offense. Assistant United States Attorneys Eliot Neal and Aaron O. Jordan are prosecuting the case.
Shorty was discovered deceased on July 25, 2020 on a dirt pathway in a field in Nenahnezad after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. Court documents allege the fatal shooting took place several days earlier on July 21, 2020. The matter remained unresolved for years until a recent investigative breakthrough by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution is part of the Department of Justice Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program and was advanced under the FBI's Operation Not Forgotten, initiatives designed to concentrate federal investigative resources on unresolved violent crimes affecting Tribal communities. For McKinley County residents, the case underscores the federal role in prosecuting crimes that occur on Tribal lands and the potential for renewed attention to other cold cases.
The indictment is an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. The filing will move the matter into the federal judicial process in the District of New Mexico. Local tribal leaders, law enforcement, and community members may see this as both a step toward accountability and a prompt to examine how investigative resources are allocated and coordinated in McKinley County and on the Navajo Nation.
As the case proceeds, the central questions for the community will be whether the federal effort leads to a timely resolution and whether families affected by violent crime receive clarity and support. The indictment renews focus on unanswered murders across the region and on efforts to improve public safety and cooperation between tribal and federal authorities.
