Ada Man Gets Life for 2019 Murder

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – A 29-year-old man from Ada, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2019 murder of his 17-year-old girlfriend, Faith Lindsey.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Tanner Dean Washington pleaded guilty to one count of Murder in Indian Country—Second Degree on August 31, 2022. As part of the plea, Washington admitted to murdering Faith Lindsey on October 27, 2019.

According to investigators, on October 27, 2019, Lindsey went missing, and her family called the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office to report her as a missing person on October 29, 2019. During the investigation, law enforcement officers uncovered evidence of blood in two of Washington’s automobiles as well as on a pair of sunglasses found in one of the vehicles.

Law enforcement interviewed witnesses who reported that on the night Lindsey went missing, Washington admitted Lindsey “was dead” and “it was his fault.” The crime occurred in Pontotoc County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“The defendant’s life sentence is part of our effort to seek justice and accountability for the tragic murder of an innocent young woman, who had a long and vibrant life ahead of her,” said FBI Oklahoma City Acting Special Agent in Charge Sonia Garcia.

Despite an extensive investigation and exhaustive search efforts, Lindsey’s body has yet to be found. The investigation was a collaboration between multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the District 22 District Attorney Drug and Violent Crime Taskforce, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office, the Pauls Valley Police Department, the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department, and the Chickasaw Nation Emergency Management.

“The OSBI, along with other law enforcement agencies, continues to search for Faith Lindsey,” said OSBI Public Information Manager Hunter McKee. “We appreciate everyone’s hard work and dedication in arresting and prosecuting the suspect responsible for this heinous crime. We will continue our search for Faith and will not give up our efforts until she is brought home.”

The Honorable Ada E. Brown, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing in Muskogee, Oklahoma.