A Warm Springs woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for her role in the death of a woman last fall.

Tana Chris Lawrence is expected to spend up to 35 years in prison, followed by a term of supervised release, according to a plea agreement filed on Nov. 20 with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lawrence and Angeledith Saramaylene Smith on Sept. 29, 2012, allegedly burglarized Faron Kalama’s Warm Springs home, beating her with wrenches and kidnapping her.

The duo reportedly took Kalama in a van to an isolated area on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, where Kalama made an attempt to escape. Lawrence chased the woman, broke a beer bottle over her head and sodomized her with another object, according to court documents.

Lawrence and Smith were originally arraigned on one count each of first-degree murder involving burglary, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse. In a second, superseding indictment filed in October of this year, Lawrence and Smith were charged with two counts of first-degree murder for killing Kalama.

An autopsy revealed Kalama died from blunt force trauma to the head and face. Her body was found on Oct. 5.

Smith has not accepted a plea agreement and is currently awaiting trial.

Curtis Lamont Brown, also of Warm Springs, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder for his role in Kalama’s death. Brown helped the women dispose of the body in another remote part of the reservation. He also helped them clean the inside of the van.

He also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a separate killing six days prior to Kalama’s death. Brown was arrested in October 2012 for the death of Jonas Miller. Brown told an FBI agent he shot Miller with an assault rifle by accident, according to a court affidavit. Brown told the FBI agent Miller flagged him down in his car and asked for a ride home.

During the drive, Miller offered to sell Brown an assault rifle for $300, and the pair drove to a path near County Line Road to test the weapon.

Miller handed Brown the rifle, and he pointed it at the back of Miller’s head and pulled the trigger, the affidavit states.

Hunters found Miller’s body near the road on Sept. 30. An autopsy found he died of a gunshot to the head.

Prosecutors recommend Brown be sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in both killings, according to a plea agreement filed on Nov. 4. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 19.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376

sking@bendbulletin.com