On September 1, 1996, in Dennehotso, Arizona, eight-year-old Cara Lei Yazzie was shot and killed in her family’s home. The attack also killed her sisters Veneashia, 15; Jazann, 13; and Nathalie, 5. Their 11-year-old brother Rhyan was seriously wounded but survived after pretending to be dead. Their mother, Cecilia Yazzie, was visiting relatives and was not at the home.

Authorities say the girls’ father, 33-year-old Norman Dean Yazzie, had been drinking beforehand. Neighbors reported smoke from two vehicles that had been set on fire near his trailer; his parents found him at the house holding a .22-caliber rifle and discovered the children’s bodies inside a home that smelled strongly of gasoline. He initially was restrained by family members but escaped and was arrested the following morning in a nearby hogan. Investigators located a note in which he wrote about anger over his wife’s infidelity and her recent suicide attempt; he reportedly told investigators he couldn’t handle the family falling apart.

Convicted in December 1996 on four counts of first-degree murder and other felonies, he was sentenced to life without parole plus 85 years. Did anyone in the community know the Yazzie children or have information about what led up to that night?