Pregnant woman killed
Man accused in murder in custody

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Frederick Beach, the man who turned himself in after allegedly bludgeoning to death a pregnant woman, remains in the custody of federal marshals after waiving his preliminary hearing in federal court in Albuquerque Monday.

On Wednesday Sept. 17, Beach tailed Verlinda Kinsel, 29, to a location near the intersection of Saltwater Wash Road and New Mexico Highway 118, a few miles west of Gallup. Kinsel had three children in the car with her at the time, ages 4, 7 and 9, and she was pregnant. She stopped to try and reason with Beach, an ex-boyfriend who is also the father of the 4-year-old, according to FBI spokesman Steve Marshall.

Beach and Kinsel began to argue for reasons that are still unclear, at which point Beach allegedly used a baseball bat to beat her to death, then drove away, leaving the children alone on the side of the road. Kinsel was pronounced dead at the scene. A passer-by saw her body and the children waving and called for help, Marshall said.

Beach drove almost immediately to Window Rock and surrendered. On Friday Sept. 19, he was transported to McKinley County Adult Detention Facility to await his hearing in Albuquerque.

He is being held on a federal murder charge at an unknown location. Sources inside McKinley County Adult Detention Facility said he would likely not be incarcerated there any longer, for protective reasons, as relatives of the victim work inside the jail.