Boyfriend convicted in killing of pregnant woman on tribal land
A man was found guilty on Thursday in the killing of a Native American woman who was pregnant with his child.
Michael Burciaga, 36, was convicted of murder within Indian Country, a violation of the Protection of Unborn Children Act and domestic assault by a habitual offender within Indian Country. He faces a minimum of life in prison, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
A jury deliberated for less than two hours Thursday before finding that Burciaga killed the woman, who was not named, and the couple’s unborn child on Dec. 15, 2020.
A 15-year-old called police at 12:15 a.m. that morning from Nixon, Nevada, to report her mother’s boyfriend stabbed her, according to federal court documents. Officers found three children in the front room of the house, and the woman’s body in the master bedroom.
Nixon is just south of Pyramid Lake, about 50 miles from Reno, Nevada.
Burciaga had left by the time police arrived, but he returned to the home on the reservation minutes later with cuts on his wrists.
“I already know what happened, and I know what I did, which is why I slit my wrist,” police said he told them.
The woman he killed was a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, where the family lived, according to federal documents.
Burciaga is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 25 in Washoe County.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
