Navajo Prosecutor Files Charge In Toddler's Death

FLAGSTAFF, AZ - Nearly three years after a toddler died on the Navajo Nation, the tribal prosecutor has filed a homicide charge in her death.

A medical examiner ruled Kiara Harvey's death in June 2008 a homicide. Her case was made headlines over the impact of federal prosecutors declining to take Indian Country criminal cases, where only they can bring serious penalties for serious crimes.

A complaint filed in tribal court in Shiprock, N.M., accuses Kiara's mother, Norena Joe, in her death. The charge came just days before the tribe's statute of limitations expires in the case. Joe did not return a message left.

Joe's arraignment in tribal court is scheduled July 8. If convicted, the maximum sentence would be one year in jail.