FBI charges Navajo Nation man in father's death by baseball bat

Federal prosecutors charged David Barney, 32, with second-degree murder on June 29 after alleging he killed his father with a baseball bat on Navajo Nation land and then moved the body in a wheelbarrow to a nearby location. The case, built with help from Gallup-based FBI agents and Navajo law enforcement, is now in federal court in Albuquerque.

Barney is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and remained in federal custody as of July 1, pending a trial date. Authorities allege the killing happened sometime between Dec. 28, 2024, and Jan. 14, 2025, and that Barney wrapped the body in blankets before placing it in a wheelbarrow. Family members discovered the body on Feb. 1, 2025.

The investigation was led by the Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. That mix of agencies is familiar in McKinley County and across the Navajo Nation, where serious violent crimes can move through tribal, federal and local channels depending on where they happened and who was involved.

Federal jurisdiction in the case follows the same structure that governs many major violent crimes in Indian Country. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico says crimes in Indian Country that fall under the Major Crimes Act are prosecuted by federal prosecutors, not state courts. The Justice Department also says Barney is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Second-degree murder under federal law carries a possible sentence of any term of years up to life in prison, which is why the charge marks a major step in a case that began with a disappearance and did not surface publicly until months after the body was found. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.

Gallup has long served as a hub for federal law enforcement in western New Mexico and nearby Indian Country, and the use of the Gallup Resident Agency reflects that regional role. For McKinley County families, the case is another reminder that some of the most serious homicides in the area are handled far from county courtrooms and move instead through the federal system that covers Navajo land.