Man sentenced in death of Arizona blind woman

KINGMAN, Ariz. - A Hualapai Tribal police detective testified Friday that four friends who were binge drinking on a hot summer morning abandoned a blind, disabled and diabetic woman at a remote cemetery where she succumbed to the elements.

The medical examiner concluded that Darlene Sinyella, 39, of Peach Springs died of heat-related exposure in 100-degree weather.

Detective Roger Felker said a survey crew found Sinyella's body on June 28, 2011, at the Valentine Cemetery, northeast of Kingman off Historic Route 66, at the edge of the Hualapai Indian Reservation. He said she was left at the cemetery on June 25 after the group drank beer and vodka and stopped to let her visit the graves of family members.

Felker's testimony at the Mohave County Courthouse in Kingman came at a hearing for Roland Cook, 44, who was sentenced to three years in prison.

Cook pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and abuse of a vulnerable adult for leaving Sinyella behind as he drove away from the cemetery with Alicia Hunter, 33, Angelina Wilder and Brainard Walema, both 47, all of Peach Springs.

"He was under the impression that she (Sinyella) wanted to stay," Felker told the court. "He knew she was at the cemetery when he departed."

Deputy Mohave County Attorney Jace Zack said there was no water and little shade at the cemetery. Neither Cook nor anyone else in the group made any phone calls or undertook any initiative to check on Sinyella's welfare as three days passed before her body was discovered.

Wilder, Walema and Hunter were previously placed on probation after pleading guilty to abuse of a vulnerable adult. They still face future restitution hearings. Zack said alcohol consumption obliterated or minimized each defendant's memory of the drinking binge.

Zack argued that Cook had the best recall and was most culpable for driving off without Sinyella. He urged Superior Court Judge Steve Conn to send a message through punishment.

"A prison sentence is a message that the Hualapai community needs to hear," Zack said. "Alcohol is a huge problem on the Hualapai Indian Reservation."

Defense attorney Vincent Iannone said Sinyella participated in the string of events that led to her death and that he didn't believe his client should be punished more than his co-defendants.

Conn said Cook stands apart from the others because he drove away and later admitted knowing that Sinyella was left behind. "They (co-defendants) were so drunk that they didn't know that the victim was left there," he said.