Nephew kills uncle with wood splitter after he said he was the man’s father, feds say
A man beat his uncle to death with a wood splitter and buried his body in a friend’s backyard after the uncle insisted he was the man’s true father, federal prosecutors said.
About one year after Edmond Shelendewa was killed in Indian Country in New Mexico, 44-year-old Brian Wallace has been sentenced to federal prison, according to prosecutors.
Ahead of sentencing, Wallace requested federal court in Albuquerque to consider a seven-year prison sentence for him, arguing he became “enraged upon hearing (Shelendewa) insult (his) mother,” a sentencing memorandum filed Aug. 1 says. This came after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in May, prosecutors said.
Days later, prosecutors wrote there was “no excuse for (Wallace’s) behavior” and argued in support of a lengthier sentence of about nine years in prison in their sentencing memo submitted Aug. 7.
Now, a judge has sentenced Wallace to nine years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced in an Aug. 21 news release.
McClatchy News contacted Esperanza S. Lujan, a federal public defender representing Wallace, for comment Aug. 22 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
In the sentencing memo Lujan submitted on Wallace’s behalf, Lujan argued Wallace’s actions were carried out during “an alcohol and methamphetamine-induced rage,” and he acted “in the heat of passion.”
According to prosecutors, sometime between July 5, 2022, and Aug. 9, 2022, Wallace and his uncle were using methamphetamine and drinking together when Shelendewa said he had sex with Wallace’s mother and was his father.
Wallace “felt (Shelendewa) was speaking ill of (his mother),” instigated a fight and began beating him with his fists before hitting him in the chest with a wood splitter, according to the government’s sentencing memo and release.
Instead of calling for help, Wallace left Shelendewa before returning to bury his body in a shallow grave with his friend’s help, according to the sentencing memo.
Prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo that “methamphetamine abuse likely contributed to the offense, but the death arose merely out of some inappropriate jokes.”
“Clearly the jokes were upsetting, but (Wallace) could have walked away, even after beating him up with his fists, and Mr. Shelendewa would still be alive today,” prosecutors wrote.
They accused Wallace of having “an extreme level of indifference over whether his uncle lived or died.”
In October, Wallace notified authorities of Shelendewa’s death and told them where to find his body, according to the release.
The Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque determined Shelendewa “died from blunt force trauma to his chest,” prosecutors said.
His death has damaged familial relationships and put Shelendewa’s family through financial hardship, the government’s sentencing memo says.
Despite this, Shelendewa’s family doesn’t seek restitution in connection with his death, as accepting money related to death is against Zuni cultural practices, according to the sentencing memo. Wallace lives in Zuni and is an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, officials said. The Zuni have lived in the southwest region of the U.S. for thousands of years, according to the Pueblo of Zuni.
“The cultural practice prevents them from appearing to profit from the death especially from the offender, as that is tainted and would be bad spiritually for them,” the sentencing memo says.
Wallace’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to prosecutors.
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