TOHAJIILEE, NM – According to U.S. Department of Justice, on June 24, 2020, Antonio Chaco, a 42-year-old enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in an argument with Thomas Anthony Brown outside of Chaco’s trailer home in To’Hajiilee.
Chaco, reportedly without warning, struck Brown in the face and continued to punch and kick him until he lost consciousness, in which Chaco then wrapped Brown in a square of carpet and took him to a remote desert location within the Navajo Nation. Chaco continued his assault before abandoning him, leaving Brown badly beaten in the wilderness without water, food, a phone, or shelter.
Ten days later, on July 4, 2020, Brown’s family found his skeletal remains in the To’Hajilee wilderness west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. As documented in court records, the Officer of Medical Investigator later determined that the cause of death was homicidal violence, including blunt-head trauma.
Additionally, Chaco pleaded guilty on June 30, 2025, for assaulting a federal detention officer at the Cibola County Correctional Facility while he was in custody pending trial for the murder of Thomas Brown. A press release on this matter states that the assault occurred while the detention officer was assisting the U.S. Marshals Service with the supervision of federal detainees. Chaco admitted to striking, pinning down, and choking the officer.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated the murder case, collaborating with the Navajo Police Department and the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. The assault was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
He was tried for second-degree murder and kidnapping that resulted in death. Chaco was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison and when he is released, he will be subject to five years of supervised release.