SEATTLE — Editor's note: The following story contains graphic content.
A man pleaded guilty to the murder of 56-year-old Mavis Nelson, whose remains were found in a ravine near the University of Washington campus last year.
Charles W. Becker, 32, pleaded guilty to murder, unlawful imprisonment and sexually violating human remains in court on Thursday.
Mavis Nelson's body was found in the Kincaid Ravine near Ravenna Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street on June 20, 2022. A medical examiner said Nelson was stabbed to death. She had been reported missing a month before.
Nelson was a mother of three and a member of the Yakama Tribe, according to her sister, Ernestine Morning Owl.
"He cheated us. He took us, took away from us, a very beautiful woman," Morning Owl told KING 5 in an October interview. "A strong, very hard-working, nice and I’ve said it before, her last name originally is Kindness. She lived up to her name."
On Oct. 4, Seattle police arrested Becker after they connected him to DNA evidence found at the scene. Becker was charged on Oct. 7.
According to court documents, Becker murdered Nelson in his home then he stored her corpse "for an extended amount of time."
In court documents, Becker said he helped another person dismember Nelson's body. Video shows a vehicle stop near the site where Nelson's remains were found and appears to show two people throwing something off the viaduct. That was within 24 hours of when Nelson's remains were found.
Nelson's death is not the first Becker has been charged with committing. In 2015, he was charged and convicted in the death of his 4-month-old son. He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and received the maximum sentence.
Becker's sentencing is set for June 30.
Native Americans are murdered, sexually assaulted and become the victims of violent crime at higher rates than the national average, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
According to the latest data available, the city of Seattle leads the nation in the number of murdered and missing Indigenous women and people cases. Washington has the second-highest number of cases of any state in the country.
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