In August 2008, after spending an extended time in the Far East, Our son Aaron A. Tierno was preparing to close on two additional real estate properties. One was another rental property and one was to be “his” home where he planned to raise a family.

Aaron was working for a private security firm and working extended hours in order to boost his income for the new homes.

On August 27, 2008, for his job, he was ordered to Globe to guard a construction site over night. This was his first job at this site and in this area. As this area is a large distance (over an hour drive) from his current home, he borrowed his brothers car that used lass fuel.

On August 28 2008, his relief arrived in the morning. Aaron did a pass down and he told her that he was hungry and tired. He told her that he planned to stop at McDonald's for a quick meal and head home because he was required to be back at work (at this site) later that evening.

On September 3, 2008, we received an urgent email from Aaron's brother that Aaron had net been seen or heard from since August 28.

Aaron's brother told us that a Phoenix police officer had arrived at the house they shared and asked why he had not reported his car stolen. They had found it a week earlier, “burned to the axles”. When he explained that his brother had borrowed it and asked to file a “missing person's report”, they would NOT accept it. They told him that people often did not want to be found.

Aaron's brother then contacted a friend who knew a police officer in the Globe area. Within hours, Terry Blevins responded (on his day off) with his offer to assist. Sergeant Blevins and Virgil Dodd started an investigation and were resourceful and wonderful. They had hard evidence of who had been seen with Aaron on the morning of August 28. Mr. Blevins and Dodd were in constant contact with us as the case developed.

At this point, an American Indian was identified as the last one in contact with Aaron. Once this was established, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) removed the case from the hands of the Gila County Sheriff's Office and we were cut off from almost all further information.

Two men were arrested on the Indian reservation. We were informed that we had the right to be present during the arraignment. They were moved to the Phoenix federal system on November 21, 2008. We were informed of this on November 24. When we asked about our rights, we were told “Oh, sorry”.

Through all of this, we have pieced together the following...

At breakfast Aaron met one of the defendants. For some reason, he gave him a ride to the reservation. Witnesses saw Aaron with the defendant, who then met with a another Indian, As Aaron went to the car, one defendant ask the other to “get your gun” and they drove off with one of the defendant (with the gun hidden in his pants/coat) in the back seat. The next time the defendant's are seen they are trying to use Aaron's ATM and charge cards. Less than 2 hours later, the defendant's were picked up by some one who knew them down the road from where the burnt out car was found, and they smelled like smoke and one of them had some hair singed.

Some time later, one of the defendant's took the BIA to Aaron's body. It was off a dirt road, down a gully, hidden in bushes.

The corners report shows that Aaron was shot in the back of the head by a large caliber firearm.

As of August 4 and 5 2009, the two defendants have made a plea of guilty and agreed to a term of 25 years for Nash and 15 to 25 for Henry. Neither of the defendant's agreed in this agreement to implicate the other. So this was a plea to simply reduce their sentence. As a matter of fact, they are not even required by this agreement to explain what and why they did this crime.

We will be at the sentencing hearing for Nash on October 28, 2009, 09:00 AM
We will be at the sentencing hearing for Henry on November 2, 2009, 10:00 AM

If this goes forward, (with “good behavior”) one can be released when he is 33 years old, and the other at the age of 45.