United States v. Elvira Charley

A federal jury convicted Elvira Charley of three counts of first degree murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 , 1153(a), and three counts of using a, firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924 (c), (j). Charley appeals her conviction alleging that the district court erred in denying motions to suppress her statements to law enforcement officers because the statements were obtained in violation of her rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

I

On the tragic morning of January 1, 2002, Elvira Charley shot three of her six children to death with a .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle, as they slept in the Charley family home located on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Klagetoh, Arizona. When the children were dead, Charley covered their bodies with blankets and went to the home of her aunt, Minnie Begay. After visiting with the Begays for more than an hour, Charley left, telling those present that she was going home to “check on her kids.”

Charley later returned to the Begay residence with one of her remaining children, and then left again to make phone calls. She…