Michael Burciaga faces a minimum sentence of life in prison for the 2020 murder of Amanda Davis, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
A Nevada man was convicted Thursday of killing his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child by stabbing her on an indigenous reservation, authorities said.
A jury found Michael Burciaga, 36, guilty of first-degree murder, a violation of the Protection of Unborn Children Act and domestic assault by a habitual offender within Indian Country, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On Dec. 15. 2020, Burciaga fatally stabbed Amanda Davis, who authorities say was his pregnant girlfriend and registered member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
Davis’ three children tried to fight off Burciaga while he stabbed her multiple times on the Pyramid Lake reservation in Nixon, according to court documents cited by the Reno Gazette Journal.
Officers responded to the scene after Davis’ 15-year-old daughter called 911, the release states.
A GoFundMe page was launched in the days after the murder to help support Davis’ three surviving children.
“On the early morning of December 15th, Amanda Davis, 37, and her unborn baby, Ezra Aaron Davis, were violently taken from this world by the father of her unborn child,” reads the fundraiser created by Autumn Harry, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and cousin to Davis.
Davis was remembered on the page as a devoted mother who fought tirelessly to protect her three children, Dejalyne, Azahni, and E’Alianna.
“While forms of domestic violence are widespread throughout our society, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) is an issue specific to native communities since colonization,” the fundraiser states.
“Violence is no one’s tradition. Please help to support the family during this time of tragedy that has impacted our relatives in the Northern Paiute community of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation,” the fundraiser adds.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the murder rate is ten times higher than the national average for women living on reservations, and the third leading cause of death for Native women.
Burciaga faces a minimum sentence of life in prison. His sentencing date has been scheduled for Sept. 25.