Amanda Davis, left, and Michael Burciaga (Davis photo from GoFundMe; Burciaga mugshot from Washoe County Sheriff’s Office)
A man was convicted of murder in the stabbing death of his then-girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child, while her three children tried to fight him off.
Michael Burciaga, 36, was convicted of murder in the first degree in the death of Amanda Davis, 37, and their unborn child, officials said. Burciaga is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25 and faces life imprisonment.
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 15, 2020, Pyramid Lake Police Department officers responded to an emergency call from the victim’s 15-year-old daughter at a home on the Pyramid Lake reservation in the northern Nevada town of Nixon, the seat of tribal government for the Paiute Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation.
Davis’ daughter said her 8-year-old brother woke her up around midnight to tell her that Burciaga had stabbed their mother. They found her alive in a bedroom and barricaded the door with a dresser, the Huffington Post reported, citing an affidavit.
Burciaga reportedly broke through the top half of the door when Davis grabbed a baseball bat and hit his hand, but her assailant broke through. Davis’ daughter also used a lamp to try to fight him off, the affidavit reportedly said.
Burciaga was able to get into the home and killed Davis, using multiple knives during the attack, authorities said. Her body was found in the master bathroom when police arrived.
Authorities found Burciaga outside the home with a cut on his hand.
“I already know what happened, and I know what I did, which is why I slit my wrist,” he told officers, prosecutors said in their news release.
On the way to the hospital, authorities said Burciaga told officers the victim was pregnant with his child.
A fundraising site described Davis, a registered member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, as a devoted mother who fought tirelessly to protect her children. She had been preparing to give birth in February 2021.
“While forms of domestic violence are widespread throughout our society, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) is an issue specific to native communities since colonization,” the site said. “Violence is no one’s tradition. Please help to support the family during this time of tragedy that has impacted our relatives in the Northern Paiute community of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation.”
Authorities said they took swift action in the case involving Burciaga, who has a history of domestic violence, The Reno Gazette-Journal reported. Authorities said their push was part of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Initiative.
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