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N.M. man admits killing wife with crowbar on Navajo reservation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A 44-year-old northwestern New Mexico man has admitted killing his wife by striking her twice in the head with a crowbar, saying he was angry that she had been texting with another man.

Dennison Hale of Tohatchi pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder in federal court in Albuquerque in the Feb. 23, 2016 killing of his wife.

Court documents don’t provide the victim’s name but identify both she and Hale as members of the Navajo Nation and say the killing occurred in the couple’s home north of Gallup on the tribe’s reservation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Hale will be sentenced between 15 and 20 years in prison. 

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