McNary Man Sentenced to Statutory Maximum for Killing Teenage Girlfriend

     PHOENIX – Yesterday, Andre Hinton, 36, of McNary, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Hinton had previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum punishment of eight years in prison.

     In November 2006, Hinton, who was 25 years old, and a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, assaulted his then 16-year-old girl girlfriend, also a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, on the Ft. Apache Indian Reservation, resulting in the victim’s death.  He did not seek medical attention for her, but rather buried her in a shallow grave with the assistance of one of his friends, who was a juvenile at the time.  Hinton and the other individual then disposed of the shovels they used to bury the victim’s body and burned their clothing.  The young victim had been reported missing by her family since October 2006.  Her body was discovered in December 2006 after the juvenile who helped bury her body led law enforcement to her grave.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with early assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department and other local agencies.  The prosecution was handled by Dimitra Sampson and Anthony Church, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.