Burciaga convicted of murdering Amanda Davis

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

A jury has found Michael Burciaga guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend in Nixon I 2022.

Burciaga was convicted of murder in the first degree within Indian Country, a violation of the Protection of Unborn Children Act, and domestic assault by a habitual offender within Indian Country. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Miranda M. Du on September 25, and he faces a statutory minimum sentence of life imprisonment. The sentencing will be determined by the Court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Shortly after midnight on December 15, 2020, Pyramid Lake Police Department officers responded to an emergency call from the victim’s 15-year old daughter at the victim’s home in Nixon. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Burciaga, 36, stabbed Davis, a registered member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, multiple times, causing her death and the death of their unborn child.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement of the conviction.

The FBI and Pyramid Lake Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Penelope Brady, Megan Rachow, and Richard Casper are prosecuting the case.