Two People Sentenced for Helping to Conceal the Murder of a Navajo Man

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Marlin Leon Nez, 45, and Megan Ashley Yarber, 36, both of Chinle, Arizona, were sentenced on Aug. 17, 2026, by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to time-served sentences, after serving more than 16 months in prison for their roles in concealing the murder of a Navajo man. Nez and Yarber were also ordered to pay restitution to the victim’s family for expenses incurred in searching for the missing victim. Nez and Yarber previously pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. According to court documents, on July 11, 2024, Wendell Draper, a Navajo man, shot and killed the victim in Nez’s residence. Following the murder, Nez helped Draper wrap the victim’s body and lift it into the back of the victim’s own vehicle. Draper then drove out to a rural location, buried the victim in a shallow grave, drove to a secondary location, and set the victim’s vehicle on fire. Yarber picked Draper up from the site of the burned vehicle and drove him back to the residence. Nez and Yarber knew that Draper had committed a federal felony by unlawfully killing the victim but failed to notify a federal authority as soon as possible. Following the murder, the victim’s family reported him missing and searched for him for weeks. His body was eventually recovered and returned to the family. Draper was shot and killed after allegedly pointing a firearm at law enforcement officers who were attempting to arrest him. The FBI Phoenix Division’s Gallup office and the Navajo Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-25-08034-PCT-MTL RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-142_Nez # # # For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.