Thursday, a man from New Mexico was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the 2019 murder of his girlfriend, a retired U.S. Army veteran whose remains were discovered in the Nevada desert over two years later.
According to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, 61-year-old Jerry Jay of Farmington was sentenced for second-degree murder and kidnapping after pleading guilty.
According to them, it was the first instance prosecuted under the legislation passed last year regarding killed and missing indigenous people.
The Farmington (New Mexico) Police Department supplied this undated photo of Cecilia Finona, age 59. / AP
Cecilia Finona, a 59-year-old Farmington resident of Navajo origin, was reported missing by her family in June 2019, according to prosecutors.
Her DNA was used to identify her bones, which were discovered in February 2021 in a lonely desert culvert just outside of Las Vegas.
Finona’s family says she retired as a master sergeant from the Army in 2019 after 31 years of service, and her partner was Jay.
After an argument on May 31, 2019, authorities say Jay smacked Finona in the head with a blunt object and then placed her in the backseat of her truck.
According to authorities, Finona bled to death as Jay drove through Arizona, Nevada, and California, using her debit card to pay for new truck tires and gas before dumping her body.
Afterwards, Jay was allegedly jailed for stealing the debit card and told a fellow inmate that he murdered Finona.
Mark Probasco, deputy head of prosecutions for the attorney general’s office, stated that Jay “not only killed in cold blood but took every step on his power to try to get away with it,”
Authorities stated that financial records, video evidence, and forensic evidence linked Jay to the crime. Probasco added that “blood tracks” on a driveway connected Jay to the crime.
During the sentencing, New Mexico Attorney General Ral Torrez remarked, “Jerry Jay took a bright light from the world in 2019 and for that, he received the sentence that he deserves,” “I thank our prosecution team along with the San Juan County prosecutors for their dedication to this case and to Cecilia.”
Finona’s brother, Steven Barber, informed KOAT-TV that he moved into his sister’s residence in January.
“Sometimes I talk to her,” Barber stated. “I walk through the door and greet my sister with “Good morning.” What’s your condition?’ I believe she is still present. That is my opinion. It comforts me, especially knowing that she is no longer in the world.”
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