04-02-2025
Zuni woman sentenced to prison for deadly kidnapping in New Mexico
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A Zuni woman was sentenced to federal prison for her involvement in a 2019 kidnapping that resulted in the victim's death, according to the Department of Justice.
Between July 1 and July 16, 2019, Kendra Panteah, 37, locked a man in the trunk of his own vehicle. She then brought the vehicle and victim to her co-defendant, Gilbert John Jr., and drove around the Navajo Nation for over 24 hours with the victim locked in the trunk before stopping at Bass Lake. When the victim attempted to escape, John Jr. repeatedly stabbed him with a machete, killing him, according to court documents.
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After the killing, Panteah and John Jr. abandoned the vehicle with the body inside for several days. John Jr. later towed the vehicle to a remote location, doused it with gasoline, and set it on fire. The victim was only identified through hip replacement devices found in the burned vehicle, the DOJ said.
Panteah was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Gilbert John Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison in June of 2024.
Panteah will be subject to five years of supervised release when her sentence is finished.
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