FARMINGTON – A Shiprock man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the second-degree murder of his aunt.

Tavor Tom, 20, pleaded guilty Nov. 24, 2020, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to the complaint and news release, on July 1, 2019, Tom went to his aunt’s residence in Shiprock where he slit her throat before he stabbed her seven to eight times to death. Tom stole his aunt’s vehicle and then drove to Walmart in Farmington and stole the cough suppressant Mucinex.

According to the criminal complaint, Tom had struggled with an addiction to Mucinex for several years and had been suicidal and increasingly violent.

According to the complaint, Tom took back roads to Aztec and crashed into a fence by a church while under the influence of the cough suppressant. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and medical workers responded to the scene upon learning of the crash the next morning.

When they responded, police found a knife with the victim’s blood on it inside the stolen vehicle driven by Tom.

Tom was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center.

He was sentenced April 7 to 15 years in prison.

Once he serves 15 years, Tom must serve three years on supervised release.

mmitchell@durangoherald.com