Ogden woman sentenced to 15 years to life for killing woman in 2025

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Ana Maria Zaragoza was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of Nakeena Youngman.
The incident occurred on April 2, 2025, after an argument between the two women at a gathering.
Separately, Zaragoza pleaded guilty in March to a drug charge in another case and is to be sentenced in that matter.

OGDEN — An Ogden woman was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in prison Friday in the killing last year of a Salt Lake woman.

Second District Judge Craig Hall ordered the sentence for Ana Maria Zaragoza, 38, for murder, a first-degree felony, in the April 2, 2025, killing of Nakeena Youngman, 40. Zaragoza pleaded guilty to the charge on March 13 as part of a plea deal and three other charges, all second-degree felonies, were dismissed — possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Zaragoza admitted to shooting and killing Youngman in an Ogden street after an argument at a mutual friend's nearby apartment, according to the plea deal. Ahead of the shooting, Youngman threatened Zaragoza as she left the gathering.

Zaragoza "went to her car, retrieved a gun, reapproached Nakeena in the street and called out to her. As Nakeena turned and walked back toward Ana, Ana shot Nakeena one time in the chest, which resulted in her death," reads the plea deal. Youngman was found lying in the street in the 400 block of East 800 North.

Zaragoza was arrested by the Utah Highway Patrol on April 13, 2025, after a trooper clocked her going 101 mph on I-15 in Davis County. A test determined her blood-alcohol level was 0.17%, more than three times the legal limit, and a trooper also found methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and a handgun in her car. After that arrest, Ogden law enforcement officials connected the woman to the killing of Youngman.

In the Davis County case, Zaragoza pleaded guilty to a count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, as part of a plea deal on March 26. In exchange, nine other counts were dismissed, including two other counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and a count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.

Also dismissed were counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, class B misdemeanors; a count of having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, a class C misdemeanor; and counts of never having obtained a license and speeding, infractions.

Zaragoza is to be sentenced in the Davis County case on Tuesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued an immigration hold on Zaragoza. The woman had booked a flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, after the killing of Youngman and before her arrest, "but she missed the flight for some reason," according to the charging documents.

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