Arizona men sentenced to more than 25 years in prison for murder of transgender victim

PHOENIX — A U.S. district judge has sentenced two Arizona men, who are members of the Navajo Nation, to more than 25 years in prison for the murder of a transgender woman in 2021.

Isiah Adam Smith, 25, was given 324 months, or 27 years, in prison by U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi on Monday for the murder, which took place in June 2021.

Another man who was charged in the crime, 24-year-old Trevor Joe Begay, was sentenced to 365 months, or 30 years and five months, in prison in September 2024.

Details in murder of transgender woman on Navajo Nation

Both men, who are members of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to killing the woman because she identified as transgender, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Smith and Begay communicated with the victim online and after she admitted being transgender, they decided to “teach the victim a lesson,” according to the release.

Isiah Adam Smith, 25, of Leupp, Arizona, was sentenced on July 28 to 324 months in prison after pleading guilty to Second Degree Murder. Smith’s co-defendant, Trevor Joe Begay, 24, of Tuba City, pleaded guilty to the same crime and was sentenced on September 23, 2024, to 365…

— US Attorney Arizona (@USAO_AZ) July 30, 2025

The pair met with the victim, took her cell phone, drove into the desert and beat her to death, the release said. Her body was found the next morning by a hiker.

Smith and Begay also tried to cover up the murder by burning their clothes and the victim’s cellphone.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Phoenix and Indian Country offices and the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations.

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