SHIPROCK, N.M. (KRQE) – The FBI is doubling the reward for a cold case on the Navajo Nation. Hoping someone will finally speak up and help them solve the murder of a man that happened more than a year ago. Isiah Terrell Billy was found dead in a gully near a gas station in Shiprock in 2020 on October 5, just a day after his 30th birthday. His mother, Cee Nelson, mourns his death every day.
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“I love my son so much, he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t need to be taken from us,” said Nelson. “We need to find justice for him. I want justice for Isiah.”
Nelson said Billy was one of seven brothers. She described him as a kind and quiet person who loved playing the trumpet and the San Francisco 49ers. The FBI said Billy was strangled to death. Now, more than a year later, Billy’s family and the FBI are still looking for answers.
The FBI doubled the reward money to $10,000 for anyone who can lead them to an arrest in Billy’s murder.
“The FBI looks into each case individually, to see what can best move it along,” said Frank Fisher, the FBI Albuquerque Division Public Affairs officer. “We think doubling this reward is going to result in more tips. People may come forward, that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 505-889-1300 or visit tips.fbi.gov to submit tips online. Fisher said they’re currently investigating more than a dozen other cold cases in the Navajo Nation.
