Second man found guilty in rape case of woman who bled to death

Carlton Lee Yazzie was found guilty Saturday June 21 for the sexual assault of a Colorado woman who died from her injuries after the rape. Yazzie, 39, was found guilty of sexual assault with aggravating circumstances, which carries a maximum sentence of 48 years to life in prison. Two other counts of sexual assault and a felony murder count, filed because Yazzie allegedly beat the woman to death with a hammer after the rape, ended in hung juries, since murder and sex assault counts in Colorado require unamious verdicts.

La Plata County District Attorney Craig Westberg has not yet indicated whether he will retry Yazzie on the two other counts of sexual assault or the murder charge. William Herrington, one of Yazzie’s two attorneys, told The Dartmouth that he believes Yazzie will not face additional prosecution.

“His conviction carries a big sentence,” he said. “It’s doubtful they would want to put the time, effort and money into retrying him.”

“The jurors were pretty adamant that they were hung,” Herrington said. “Some jurors said that under no circumstances would they change their vote.”

Redhorse was found dead on the morning of June 7, 2007, in a motel room at Spanish Trails Inn & Suites in Durango, Colo. During his opening statements, Westberg told the jurors that the three men came to Redhorse’s home on June 6, where they found her highly intoxicated, according to a report by The Durango Herald. The men took her to the Spanish Trails Inn, where they continued to serve her alcohol. Nakai and Begaye raped Redhorse in the room and then left Yazzie alone with her for two hours, Westberg alleged. I

It was during this time that Westberg said Yazzie used a hammer to cause fatal injuries to Redhorse, The Durango Herald reported.

No one witnessed the assault, and DNA evidence was inconclusive, Herrington said. The Dartmouth reported in May that the hammer, the alleged murder weapon, was not collected or tested for DNA by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

The trial was held in Montrose, CO and Yazzie, who will be sentenced August 22, was convicted after 3.5 hours of jury deliberation. Another suspect, Derrick Begaye of Shiprock, NM, was sentenced in May to the maximum 48 years to life for his role in the rape, but was acquitted of felony murder. A third defendant, Harold Nakai, will go on trial in August.