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Chavez called 911 to report the alleged suicide around 9 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2007. Levi Chavez claimed he returned to their Los Lunas, New Mexico, home on Oct. 22, 2007, to find his wife's dead body in bed after taking a bullet right into the 26-year-old's mouth. Levi Chavez is a former Albuquerque, NM Police Officer who was charged with the 2007 death of his 26yearold wife, Tera Chavez. "Please tell them to hurry!" the 26-year-old can be heard saying in his 911 call, PEOPLE reported. There is no confirmation on whether she is still a part of the Albuquerque Police Department. "He's got several plans in the works," Serna said. Trying to figure out where the medical cannabis program stands now is up for debate one side saying the program is expected to University of New Mexico Hospital launching health care listening Hospital CEO Kate Becker says 'we really want to hear from our community about what their health needs are' in order to prioritize resources. Her husband, Albuquerque Police Department officer Levi Chavez, was the one who discovered her body and called 911, claiming that it looked like his wife had shot herself with his department-issued weapon. action 7 . BERNALILLOTwenty-four days after Levi Chavez called 911 to say his wife had shot herself in the head, a text message popped up on his cellphone suggesting that a new marriage wasn't far off.. However, after several suspicions, connections, and autopsy reports were drawn, investigators and the victim's family accused the officer of allegedly shooting and murdering Tera Chavez in the bed of their Los Lunas home. Levi was initially charged with murdering his wife with his police issued Glock and making it appear as a suicide. Serna told Chavez. Bernalillo County deputy involved in rollover crash in Northeast Albuquerque, Where does medical cannabis go from here? 'I'm going to go to church, pray my Rosary and thank my Virgin Mary,' Chavez said as he was crowded by reporters. She loved hard. It looks like Chavez is now working for a nonprofit that provides emergency and permanent housing to homeless individuals. Chavez discovered his wife dead, with a gunshot wound to the mouth upon returning home on October 22, 2007. The former officer, clenching a Rosary, immediately embraced his attorney, David Serna. In July 2013, after a month-long trial, the verdict from the jury came in: not guilty. In March 2020, Nob Hill mainstay Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. [1] [2] Levi was initially charged with murdering his wife with his police issued Glock and making it appear as a suicide. Joseph Cordova, Teras father, told the outlet, The culture which we grew up in, his family was from law enforcement. He is suing the detective who first launched the investigation into the 2007 death of Levi's wife, Tera Chavez. Tera Chavezs mother, Theresa Cordova, said her daughter was an artist, according to a feature on Chavezs life in Alibi. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. Detective Aaron Jones with the Valencia County Sheriffs Office said he found Tera Chavezs diary, which detailed her despair and, in more recent times, her hopes for the future and her decision to leave her husband. Within two months of her death, he was engaged to a former colleague at the Albuquerque Police Department, Heather Hindi, and they were married a few months later, PEOPLE wrote. Levi was ultimately cleared of all charges. Chavez alleged malicious prosecution, malicious abuse of process, defamation, and outrageous conduct, court documents show. LIVE IN SANDOVAL COUNTY LZ KOAT ACTION 7 NEWS.. COUNT ON KOAT-DOT-COM FOR. Prosecutors allege that Levi Chavez shot Tera Chavez, 26, once in the mouth with his APD-issued Glock 9 mm pistol and tried to make it look like a suicide. The upcoming episode of Dateline Unforgettable will premiere at 8.00 pm ET on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Theyve long been appreciated for their Sign up for our daily newsletter and get the best of fashionuer in your in-box. One day, [the kids] are going to be of age, and theyre going to want to know, her father told Alibi. The murder trial eventually took place in the summer of 2013 and lasted a total of 21 days of testimony and two days of deliberation, KOAT wrote. He and his defense attorney, David Serna, maintain that Tera shot herself with Levis Glock 9 mm. Levi Chavez, a 26-year-old officer with the Albuquerque, New Mexico Police Department, at nine o'clock on the night of October 21, 2007, called 911 to report that his wife had committed suicide with his department-issued Glock 9 pistol. She was quiet. Chavez claimed that his wife committed suicide because of his many affairs. Serna said his client was a victim of an overly aggressive former detective and 'lies' from local media outlets, although none reported Serna ever requesting for a retraction or correction from any stories since 2007. Levi Chavez. After more than 10 hours of deliberations, a jury acquitted Levi Chavez, 32, of murdering of his wife, 26-year-old Tera Chavez, in 2007 and trying to make the hairdresser's death look like a suicide. Valencia County sheriffs initially ruled the death as a suicide due to the "close proximity of the gun to the body. On the night of Oct. 21, 2007, the lives of one couple from Los Lunas, New Mexico were changed forever. Thats when she married Levi Chavez and took his last name, according to testimony she gave this morning at the end of the third week in her husbands murder trial. After a few years there, they moved back to Los Lunas, and Levi got a job as a police officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. Jones also told her that Levi Chavez had numerous affairs while he was married to Tera, but according to Keeners characterization of Heather Chavezs previous statements, she wasnt interested. But I didnt see them, she said, adding later that she also didnt see any items that looked like they had belonged to Tera. The Valencia County District Attorney stated Chavez violated the . In July 2013, Levi Chavez was found not guilty of first-degree murder. 'Justice was not served,' Joseph Cordova, the father of Tera Chavez, said after listening to the verdict with his wife. Levi Chavez is a former police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was charged with the 2007 death of his 26-year-old wife, Tera Chavez. In October of 2007, Tera, a mother of two, allegedly shot and killed herself at the couple's home while their children were at a family member's house. Tera Chavezs parents say the entire legal process has been difficult because they want to continue to be in their grandchildrens lives but they also want Teras kids to know she didnt commit suicide. Chavez was accepted at the University of New Mexico Law School and began studying for his degree in 2016, where he specialized in criminal law, according to Cinemaholic. The two met twice thereafter to have sex before Levi Chavez called 911 to say his wife had shot herself in the head. The case made national news when Officer Chavez's sexual history became known, including affairs with fellow police officers, and that he spent the night before his wife was killed with his current girlfriend. Levi Chavez maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and he maintains his innocence even today. Levi Chavez's current wife, Heather Chavez, took the stand Friday.She detailed the development of the pair's relationship following the death of Levi Chavez's former wife, Tera. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. Following the not-guilty verdict, Chavez fileda federal lawsuit against Aaron Jones, a detective with the Valencia County Sheriffs Department at the time of Teras death. Please enter valid email address to continue. rules the death self-inflicted The medical examiner ruled Tera's death a suicide. That case is scheduled to be heard in state District Court in Bernalillo County and has been on hold while the criminal trial was held. Her husband Levi is suspected soon after because of suspicious circumstantial evidence, but there is no confession, eyewitness or 'smoking gun' forensic evidence. Copyright 2022 by Fashionuer. In an indictment filed in April 2011 that charges Levi Chavez with first-degree murder and evidence tampering, prosecutors say he killed Tera in the couples home near Los Lunas on Oct. 19, 20 or 21, 2007. detailing just how quickly their relationship developed once tera chavez died. But on that night in October, Levi, a police officer with the Albuquerque Police Department, called 911 to report that he'd found his wife dead in their home. I didnt speak with her.. INVESTIGATION - Death of APD Officer's Wife Investigated INVESTIGATION - Death of APD Officer's Wife Investigated. Annalise died after being pushed off the roof in December 2009. WE ALSO LEARNED FRIDAY THAT HEATHER-WENT TO TERA CHAVEZ'S FUNERAL. BERNALILLO, N.M. The monthlong criminal trial and all its salacious stories of law officer affairs and a blundering investigation are over, but a civil trial looms for a former Albuquerque policeman acquitted of killing his depressed wife with his department-issued gun. After more than 10 hours of deliberations, a jury acquitted Levi Chavez, 32, of murdering of his wife, 26-year-old Tera Chavez, in 2007 and trying to make the hairdresser's death look like. Woke professor who opposes charter schools sent her sons to Manhattan's $60,000-a-year Dalton Prep: Denies hypocrisy and blames ex-husband, Defense says evidence is consistent with suicide, Cops at Albuquerque Police Department accused of tampering with evidence. I did WE ALSO LEARNED TODAY THAT UNDERNEATH THE MATTRESS ON WHICH TERA CHAVEZ WAS FOUND DEAD WAS A CALL LOG FROM LEVI'S CELL PHONE. The pair met when they were just teenagers starting high school, and soon, they got into a serious relationship. According to her testimony, Heather Chavez was in Chicago with her parents the weekend Tera died. Shed never leave them of her own will. Serna said he doubted that Chavez would want return to the state's largest police department. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. As soon as this grand jury indictment came out, Levi was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department, from where he had been on administrative leave for over a year. Her father, Joseph Cordova, said she loved flowers and drew some all over the house. pic.twitter.com/O5xOecrgtD, HeadingHomeNM (@HeadingHomeNM) June 1, 2020. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. But on direct examination by Bryan McKay, senior trial attorney for the 13th Judicial District Attorneys Office, Garley testified that she also went to the home the Chavezes had shared at 11 Ash Place on the weekend of Nov. 11 and 12, 2007. Over the next several months, detectives began digging into Levi Chavezs story and the investigation eventually deemed her death a homicide. Levi has undergraduate degrees from UNM and CNM, as well as a law degree from the UNM School of Law. Levi Chavez, 32, was accused of killing his hairdresser wife with his police-issued handgun and making it look like a suicide amid a crumbling marriage that included a love triangle at her hair . On the 911 call, Levi Chavez can be heard crying and saying Please tell them to hurry! Her death was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner, but investigators began thinking it might have been a homicide and the cause of death was changed to undetermined, PEOPLE reported. Thats also where she was working on Oct. 8, 2007, the first time she met Levi Chavez face-to-face, according to her testimony. Levi also asserted that when Tera apparently killed herself, he was away, spending the weekend at one of his girlfriends apartment. Heres what you need to know about Tera Chavezs death: Levi Chavez said he came home on October 22, 2007, and found his wife dead from a gunshot wound from his service weapon, PEOPLE wrote. . There is no confirmation on whether she is still a part of the Albuquerque Police Department. Levi Chavez, right, a former Albuquerque police officer, gets a congratulatory hug from his attorney David Serna on Tuesday, July 16, 2013, in Bernalillo, N.M., after a jury acquitted him of murder and tampering with evidence charges in the 2007 death of his estranged wife, Tera Chavez. That case is scheduled to be heard in state District Court in Bernalillo County and has been on hold while the criminal trial was held. Isabel Wilkerson Husband: How Many Marriages She Did? [3], The night prior to the death of his wife Tera, Levi had spent the night at his girlfriend's house. She loved strong., READ NEXT: Social Media Influencer Set on Fire & Killed by Ex-Husband, Family Says, Tera Chavezs Death: Levi Chavez Was Charged With Murdering His Wife, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Keener pressed Heather Chavez on a statement she made during her deposition that her sexual relationship began in a car. Chavezs bio states that hes the emergency housing director at the Westside Emergency Housing Center. She didnt leave them., When she was just 15 years old, Tera met Levi Chavez and became pregnant with his child, Alibi reported. According to reports, he is now the husband of APD Detective Heather. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The records also show that following the end of the shift at midnight, the phone was in the far Northeast Heights, near the home of a fellow APD officer with whom Chavez was having an affair. Much of the trial centered on allegations that Albuquerque police officers who responded to the Chavez home in nearby Los Lunas removed and even flushed key evidence down a toilet. Prosecutor Bryan McKay, who told jurors during closing arguments that Chavez used his department-issued gun to commit "cold-blooded, calculated, planned-out murder," declined to comment after the verdict. Hindi said on the stand that shed never met Tera Chavez, but she went to her funeral and helped move her things out of the family home after her death, footage from the trial shows. Read More: Where Are Tera Chavezs Parents Now? It appears that Chavez is now working for a non-profit organization called Heading Home that gives emergency housing and permanent housing support to people who are homeless in New Mexico, according to their website. The records show roughly the same pattern for Oct. 20: Levi Chavezs cellphone was on the West Side during the hours of the swing shift, then in the Heights shortly thereafter.