Shanaya Peota was the killer of social worker Sandy Grimmes in Burying the Hatchet (Case #53 of Grimsborough).
Profile
Shanaya is a 28-year-old Aloki Indian with long black hair sported with a blue with green stripes cloth braid. She wears a gray singlet with red boxes as designs with a black undershirt inside it. She also wears a turquoise beaded necklace around her neck and has a tattoo of a feather on her right shoulder. It is known that Shanaya is a smoker, has bad breath and is in contact with turpentine.
| Height | 5'5" |
|---|---|
| Age | 28 |
| Weight | 120 lbs |
| Eyes | brown |
| Blood | A- |
Events of Criminal Case
Shanaya was a resident of the Aloki trailer park where the body of a social worker named Sandy Grimmes was found tied to a post and mutilated. She was called into the investigation to be asked about her appointment with the victim.
At the end of Chapter 2, Shanaya anonymously threatened Anakee, the Aloki shaman, to stop helping Jones and the player with Sandy's murder investigation, or get killed.
“Sandy, if you harm my family I'll kill you!”
—Shanaya's ex-husband Delsin.
Shanaya was then interrogated a second time when the team quizzed her about her ex-husband, Delsin Peota's written threat message to the victim.
At the end of the case, all evidence proved that Shanaya was the one liable for the gruesome murder of Sandy.
Shanaya with her kids.
Sandy was a social worker who wanted to make changes in the Aloki Settlement. Shanaya, however, hated her; after Shanaya and Delsin got divorced, Sandy started having an affair with him, later sending Delsin and Shanaya's kids to foster care.
Shanaya did not want to submit to Grimsborough's law, and told the team that what she did was right during her moment of arrest. She knew what she had to do, so when Sandy arrived for an appointment with the juvenile offender Keanu Ashokan, she jumped at Sandy and tied her to the pole which could be found in the Aloki Settlement. Shanaya then hacked off Sandy's hands with an Indian hatchet she stole from Grim Gas, Ron Riggs's gas station.
At court, Shanaya was proud of committing the murder because of Sandy's crimes. Shanaya said that she was a happy Aloki wife until Sandy started working in the Aloki Settlement. When Sandy arrived, she made Shanaya the laughing stock of the Aloki community. Shanaya continued by stating that Sandy's affair with Delsin was not the first time that this happened to the Aloki Indians since Sandy's ancestor, Solomon Grimmes, stole Inaya—the love interest of Keme Peota, Delsin's ancestor—from Keme back in 1643. Although Shanaya avenged Keme by killing Sandy, the Judge countered that past wrongs could not be made right with new crimes.
Shanaya was sentenced to life imprisonment for the pitiless murder of Sandy Grimmes. Jones said that the team should thank Anakee for her willingness to help them and to guide them to the truth. He then concluded that the communities would accomplish a great job if they worked together.
Trivia
- Shanaya resembles Pocahontas from the 1995 Disney film of the same name.
Case appearances
- Burying the Hatchet (Case #53 of Grimsborough)
Gallery
