Shiprock Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Second-Degree Murder

ALBUQUERQUE - A Shiprock man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally stabbing a man in broad daylight near a community grocery store in Shiprock, New Mexico.

According to publicly available court documents, on the afternoon of July 25, 2024, officers with the Navajo Nation Police Department responded to a fight in progress near a high-traffic Navajo Nation shopping center in Shiprock, New Mexico. Upon arrival, they found a man lying on the ground with wounds to his face and chest. Witnesses reported that Edison Brady, 57, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, had stabbed the man in the chest after the man was already badly beaten, hardly conscious, lying on the ground, and bleeding from the head. According to multiple witnesses, Brady attacked the victim without provocation, repeatedly punching and kicking him as he remained on the ground and attempted to shield his face. Brady then walked away, retrieved a long kitchen knife from his nearby bag, and returned to stab the victim in the chest as the victim lay bleeding and barely conscious. The victim died from his injuries shortly after arriving at the Northern Navajo Medical Center. Officers recovered the knife, which was covered in the victim's blood, from Brady's bag minutes after the attack.

Brady pleaded guilty without a plea agreement to an indictment charging him with one count of second-degree murder. Upon his release from prison, Brady will be subject to five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Brady must also compensate the New Mexico Crime Victim Reparations Commission for the $6,000.00 it expended paying for the victim's funeral expenses.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Jena Ritchey and Zachary C. Jones are prosecuting this case.