Indian teen found dead on Flathead Reservation

Thursday, May 31, 2007  

An 18-year-old Indian girl was found strangled to death on the Flathead Reservation in Montana and her mother believes the crime was racially motivated.

Tasheena Craft was on the reservation to visit her boyfriend, who was on leave from Iraq. Craft's mother, Diana Cote, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said Craft was taken from their home early Tuesday morning in what was believed to be a kidnapping.

Craft's body was found later that day. She had been beaten and strangled. A witness later tied the incident to Kelly Burmingham, 19, a friend of Craft's boyfriend.

Burmingham was arrested but as local authorities were transporting him to a jail on the reservation, he kicked out the window and jumped out. He was being treated in a hospital for injuries.

Police said they don't have a motive. Cote believes her daughter's death was motivated by race.

Cote's son, Shonto Pete, was recently shot in the head by an off-duty police officer. He is recovering from his injuries and had been living with Craft, his half-sister, in Spokane, Washington. She was about to finish her junior year.

Get the Story:
Spokane student killed in Montana (The Spokesman Review 5/31)
Woman was likely strangled, police say (The Missoulian 5/31)
Spokane teenager found dead in Montana likely was strangled (AP 5/31)