Ryan Flute

Guilty plea entered; agreed sentence awaiting court approval. Flute pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Under the plea agreement, the parties agreed to a sentence of 15 years in prison, subject to the court’s approval.

Introduction

Ryan Flute, 46, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Shiprock, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for causing the death of a woman who suffered fatal head injuries after he repeatedly pushed her during an argument at a Shiprock residence in May 2024 . The plea, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico on October 23, 2026, resolves a federal Indian Country homicide case with an agreed 15-year sentence that still requires the court’s approval . Upon release, Flute will be subject to a period of supervised release of up to five years; there is no parole in the federal system .

Background Information

According to court documents, on May 21, 2024, Flute and the victim were drinking alcohol at a residence in Shiprock when an argument between them turned violent . During the argument, Flute repeatedly pushed the victim, causing her to fall backward and strike her head on a piece of furniture . The immediate aftermath was deceptively calm by the court documents’ account: Flute helped the victim to her feet, and the two went to bed .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The following morning, Flute found the victim unresponsive and called for emergency medical assistance . She was transported to the hospital, never regained consciousness, and died on May 27, 2024 — six days after the argument . An autopsy determined she died from blunt-force injuries, primarily to her head, and also sustained injuries to her neck, torso, and extremities — findings that extended the case beyond the single head strike a fall alone would explain and into the repeated-push account Flute ultimately pleaded to . Under the terms of the plea agreement, the parties agreed to a sentence of 15 years in prison, subject to the court’s approval, with up to five years of supervised release to follow .

Public Reaction and Consequences

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office announced the plea . The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated with assistance from the Navajo Police Department, the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations, and the Farmington Police Department; Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting . The case was one of two Shiprock homicide resolutions the district announced in the same October window, alongside the 20-year sentencing of Edison Brady for a separate fatal stabbing .

Current Status

Flute has pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced: the 15-year term is an agreement between the parties that the court must approve, and no sentencing date was announced with the plea . Until the court accepts the agreement, the case remains pending in federal district court in New Mexico . The conviction to which he pleaded — second-degree murder in Indian Country — carries the agreed 15 years and the supervised-release term that follows .

Impact on Their Career/Life

At 46, Flute faces 15 federal years for an argument that turned fatal in the space of a living room — a case that moved from an emergency call the morning after to an autopsy, an FBI investigation across two Navajo law-enforcement agencies, and a guilty plea two and a half years later. The agreed sentence reflects the profile of the federal Indian Country homicide docket, where arguments between acquaintances that end in a single fatal mechanism are resolved by negotiated pleas rather than trial.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico, “Shiprock Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder of Woman,” October 23, 2026 — source