Joshawa Max Estrada sentenced to federal prison for his role in the murder of Jedidah Iesha Moreno

YAKIMA — A man connected to the 2018 murder of Rosenda Strong is spending more than eight years in a federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington in a press release March 26 announced Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Joshawa Max Estrada, 27, to 100 months in federal prison on one count of accessory after the fact for his role in the October 2018 murder of Jedidah Iesha Moreno.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Jedidah Iesha Moreno shot and killed Strong on or about Oct. 5, 2018, following an argument at a residence, known as the House of Souls, in Wapato, Washington. Strong was a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and a descendant of the Yakama Nation.

Her family reported her missing to Yakama Nation Tribal Police on Oct. 2, 2018.

Strong was 31 when she disappeared and was a mother of four.

Following the murder, Moreno asked for help disposing of Strong’s body, which was placed in a freezer and dumped near a towing service in Toppenish, Washington.

Moreno and Andrew Norris Zack on Oct. 6, 2018, got into an argument at a residence known as the Estrada Ranch in Wapato, Washington. Moreno took out a gun and fired several times into a garage, where Zack was in the bathroom. One of these shots struck Zack’s hand.

Around the same time that Zack was shot, Uriel Balentin Badillo was at Legends Casino. Badillo received a call that Zack was in trouble, and Badillo drove out to the residence, where he found Moreno standing in a field, according to the press release. When Badillo asked about Zack, Moreno was unresponsive.

Badillo then drove Moreno to the House of Souls — where Strong had been killed the day before —  to look for Zack, the press release states. When Badillo and Moreno arrived, a female came out of the House of Souls and said, “Gag the bitch up.” After a sock was placed into Moreno’s mouth, Badillo and the female drove Moreno back to the Estrada Ranch. There, Moreno was restrained, bound with a cargo strap and duct tape, and forced into a Chevrolet Impala.

Badillo then fired a .45 caliber pistol several times into the trunk of the car, striking Moreno.  Later that day, two juveniles transported Moreno’s body to another location on the Yakama Nation. One of the juveniles fired additional rounds into Moreno’s body.

The next day, Estrada spoke to Badillo, Zack, and the juvenile.  When Estrada learned Badillo had murdered Moreno and dumped her body, he teased the juvenile for leaving the body in such a visible place. Badillo then asked Estrada to move Moreno’s body and get rid of the cargo strap around her body because Badillo was worried he might have left his DNA and/or fingerprints on the cargo strap.

Estrada and one of the juveniles found Moreno’s body and moved it to a more secluded location near White Swan, Washington. As directed by Badillo, Estrada also removed the cargo strap from Moreno’s body. After moving the body to a more concealed location, the juvenile fired additional gunshots into the body.

Later that same day, Estrada and the juvenile traveled back to Wapato to meet with Zack and Badillo. Estrada handed Badillo the cargo strap that had been removed from Moreno’s body so that Badillo could destroy the evidence.

On Nov. 28, 2018, a citizen discovered Moreno’s remains and immediately contacted law enforcement. Strong’s remains were found on July 4, 2019.

Authorities released Strong’s body to her family, and she was buried next to their mother at the Umatilla Indian Reservation on Sept. 25, 2021.

“The families in the Rosenda Strong and Jedidah Iesha Moreno cases have waited years to obtain some measure of justice on behalf of their loved ones,” Acting U.S. Attorney Barker stated in the press release. “I am grateful for the eyewitnesses, who came forward in this case and helped the FBI and Yakama Nation Tribal Police identify those responsible for these terrible murders. To those who have information about unsolved missing or murdered indigenous people cases, I implore you to come forward and help bring a measure of closure to the families that continue to grieve.”

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Yakama Nation. Assistant U.S. attorneys Thomas J. Hanlon and Michael D. Murphy handled the prosecution.

Defendants Zack, Jamaal Antwan Pimms, Kevin Todd Brehm and Uriel Balentin Badillo have all pleaded guilty to charges in this case. Michael Lee Moody pleaded guilty to charges in this case and was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.