detailing just how quickly their relationship developed once tera chavez died. 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. 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. They werent told that tens of instances in which Levi Chavezs attorneys asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination had been excised from the deposition. Play it now! "He's got several plans in the works," Serna said. Later on, when Tera passed away, he claimed that the only reason he hadnt left his wife was because of their two children. 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. Meanwhile, in the courtroom, Chavez and family gathered to pray a "Hail Mary" until Serna grabbed Chavez by the arm to escort him through a crowded pathway of supporters and family members. when did the romantic relationship start? Now her parents speak to News 13. IN THE WEEKS AFTER THE FUNERAL SHE WAS HELPING MOVE TERA'S ITEMS OUT OFTHE LOS LUNAS HOME ANDMORE. May 1, 2008. Levi was engaged to Heather Hindi two months after Tera died and married a few months later, according to PEOPLE. In August 2013, Chavez was acquitted of the murder charges. The case made national headlines in 2013 as more details came to light about the case and about Levi Chavez' personal life. Josh Mankiewicz reports. "Please tell them to hurry!" the 26-year-old can be heard saying. webvtt in day 14 of the levi chavez trial, his current wife, a-p-d officer heather chavez takes the stand. "I don't feel like speaking for his future.". Chavez claimed that his wife committed suicide because of his many affairs. The tawdry details spilled in the trial and the questions it raised about the practices of the Albuquerque Police Department have further tarnished the agency, which is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department over a series of police shootings. After more than 10 hours of deliberations, a jury acquitted Levi Chavez . Levi's Obituary On July 9, 2021, we lost our father, Levi Chavez, Levi passed away at the awesome age of 95. 'Guilt doesn't even begin to describe it.'. The OTHER side of the law: Former Albuquerque police officer Levi Chavez seen here in his mugshot after allegedly murdering his wife. During the gap, Keener asked, You have no idea where the cellphone of Mr. Chavez was?. Emergency Housing Director, Westside Emergency Housing Center. 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. 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. Thats also where she was working on Oct. 8, 2007, the first time she met Levi Chavez face-to-face, according to her testimony. Jorge was born on August 28, 1961 in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. We always thought, Hell take care of her.'. I didnt do anything wrong, KOAT reported. He was acquitted of her murder on Tuesday, The less-than-perfect crime: Tera Chavez was killed when her husband allegedly shot her in the mouth and tried to make it look like a suicide. THE DEFENSE REVEALED TERA CALLED AT LEAST EIGHT NUMBERS ON THAT LIST-- INCLUDING HEATHER IN SEPTEMBER 2007. Aug 19, 2008 . The problem here was that his girlfriend couldnt remember exactly when Levi came to her place or when he left. But, the disgraced former officer insisted that he did not kill his wife. Although the case initially looked like a suicide, investigators dug up evidence and theories that proved otherwise. The city of Albuquerque already has paid Tera's family $230,000 to settle claims against it and its police department in the civil case. [3], The night prior to the death of his wife Tera, Levi had spent the night at his girlfriend's house. According to their website, Levi holds the title of Emergency Housing Director at their Westside Emergency Housing Center. He was accused of murdering his wife by the victim's family and one of the detectives working the case and was ultimately acquitted of all charges in 2013 after being found not guilty by a jury. 'He's got several plans in the works,' Serna said. He is suing the detective who first launched the investigation into the 2007 death of Levi's wife, Tera Chavez. Chavez was placed on leave at the police department where he worked and eventually, on April 7, 2011, he was arrested and charged with his wifes murder, KOAT reported. According to several local coverages, the news of his admission to the university inspired mixed reactions from alumni and other students. Although her parents said they were shocked at the news, they turned it around to a positive. The teenager and her baby continued to live at the Cordova family home for two years, her mother Theresa Cordova said. A few years later, the family of four moved back to New Mexico, where Levi Chavez became a police officer with the Alburquerque Police Department and Tera Chavez started going to barber college. He finally went on trial for the allegations brought against him in 2013, a full two years after the charges were first brought. The investigation took many years, with a search warrant served at Levi Chavezs home in August 2009, by which time the case was deemed a homicide. But Keener pointed to more phone records that showed a call from Teras phone to Heathers on Sept. 29, 2007. And did you have intimate relations at 11 ash place in 07? View the profiles of people named Levi Chavez. Where is he today? "There never was a case against Levi Chavez," Serna said. 'He took one more breath and that's it': Mother describes Ex-marine father murdered wife and 17-month-old son before Pennsylvania woman gets life for stabbing her fianc to Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Please enter valid email address to continue. The police re-opened their investigation in March of 2010 and charged Levi with her death on April 20, 2011. The morning of 22 October 2007, he returned to the couple's home in Los Lunas, NM where he . 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Levi Chavez verdict came after a five-week trial and a six-year investigation that put the 32-year-old former police officer on trial for the October 2007 shooting death of his wife in their home near Los Lunas, New Mexico. In court today, she said the calls were work related, and Keener did not press her for specifics. Tera Chavez died on 22nd October 2007 at Los Lunas, New Mexico, United States, she was 26 years old during her time of death and according to the report she died from a gunshot wound from her husband's service weapon. This individual treats the department as his own private brothel, and while he runs amok, nobody does anything or says anything. 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. Alicia Castro is the former Argentine Ambassador to Venezuela and current Argentine Ambassador in the United Kingdom. She said she knew Tera had died and Levi Chavez told her the couples two children were home that weekend. Then, there is also the matter of Tera telling her friends that she thought her husband was involved in an insurance scam and was stealing money. His new wife, Heather Hindi, who was one of his fellow officers, also testified on the stand. 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. The former police officer, graduating with a law degree, serves in a non-profit company known as Heading Home and assists the organization in its fight against homelessness in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Manage the news you want to see, read exclusive content and explore other subscriber benefits. She was my secret-bank. However, nearly four years after Tera took her last breath, Levi was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and tampering with evidence. I wasnt worried.. rules the death self-inflicted The medical examiner ruled Tera's death a suicide. "If we had a smoking gun, I would say it was the unseated magazine," said Arthur Ortiz, a longtime New Mexico lawman,. Levi has undergraduate degrees from UNM and CNM, as well as a law degree from the UNM School of Law. Heather Chavezs statement in court today was that the couple only kissed in the car. Valencia County sheriffs initially ruled the death as a suicide due to the "close proximity of the gun to the body. 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. Mmmm detective Chavez with homicide, the text read. No comments have so far been submitted. Witnesses also described a workplace where interoffice romance was rampant and said both Levi and Tera Chavez had affairs with members of the police force. Levi Chavez Now: Where Is Tera Chavezs Husband Today? End of November, end of November, December BUT IT WAS EVEN EARLIER THAN THAT-- JUST THREE WEEKS AFTER LEVI'S WIFE TERA DIED HINDI SENT HIM A TEXT READING "MMM DETECTIVE CHAVEZ WITH HOMICIDE." Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Levi Chavez, ex-police officer, not guilty of murdering wife", "Levi Chavez relinquishes police certification", "Extramarital affairs take center stage in ex-cop murder trial", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Levi_Chavez&oldid=1082952788, Articles needing additional references from March 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Former police officer, Attorney at Law, www.levichavezlaw.com, This page was last edited on 16 April 2022, at 03:25. It appears that his wife, now known as Heather Chavez, is a detective with the Farmington Police Department. Join Facebook to connect with Levi Chavez and others you may know. The interview between Levi Chavez and former Valencia County Sheriff's Detective Aaron Jones was recorded shortly after deputies found Tera Chavez at the couple's home, dead from a gunshot . Following a couple of years of preparation, he applied to be a lawyer and was accepted into the University of New Mexico Law School, entering class of 2016, where he apparently specialized in criminal law. 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. Investigators eventually deemed her death to be suspicious and Levi Chavez became the primary suspect, especially after he remarried less than seven months following his first wifes death. you were talking about yourself, and you were talking about possibly marrying him bc his name was chavez, and you wanted to go to homicide. 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. But the disgraced former. Levi Chavez. They allege the former officer killed his wife to keep her from disclosing an alleged staged theft of a truck for insurance money. The lawsuit against Jones was dismissed in 2018. Throughout the trial, Levi Chavez steadfastly asserted his innocence and continues to do so. As week three of the Levi Chavez murder trial wound down prosecutors started playing up another possible motive for him to kill his wife Tera. 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. 'I don't feel like speaking for his future.'. Some of the affairs were with female APD officers.[4]. Dated Nov. 14, 2007, it was from a fellow APD officer whose name, at the time, was Heather Hindi. Her family said they knew there was trouble in the relationship and they had heard Levi Chavez was cheating on his wife, Alibi reported. Levi Chavez, 32, admitted to having a string of mistresses, searching a website on how to kill someone with martial arts moves and ignoring his wife's calls for help. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. Social Media Influencer Set on Fire & Killed by Ex-Husband, Family Says. ", First published on July 17, 2013 / 10:40 AM. After being pronounced not guilty by a jury in 2013, Levi sought to become a lawyer after a couple of years of training and was admitted into the University of New Mexico Law School, where he reportedly concentrated on criminal law. At first, because of how the crime scene looked, Teras death was ruled a suicide. He pulled up the call history for the officer on his patrol computer and found it was a car assigned to Levi . The two had gotten engaged just two months after Tera Chavezs death and prosecutors asked questions about how quickly Levi Chavez had moved on. M.E. Chavez is a former Albuquerque Police Department officer, accused of killing his wife at their Los Lunas home in 2007. 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. Keener pressed Heather Chavez on a statement she made during her deposition that her sexual relationship began in a car. 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. By that time, though, their marriage was already crumbling apart as Levi was having affairs with several women, many of whom he worked with on the police force. Chavez alleged malicious prosecution, malicious abuse of process, defamation, and outrageous conduct, court documents show. Mr. Levi Chavez was born and raised in New Mexico and has a military and law enforcement background. In 2000, they tied the knot and moved to Virginia, where Levi was working as a Coast Guard. or debate this issue live on our message boards. / CBS News. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Chavez called 911 to report the alleged suicide around 9 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2007. They also werent allowed to watch video of that deposition. Audrina Patridge Niece: What Happened To Sadie Raine Loza? Check arrest records, resumes and CV, photos and videos, news, social media profiles, publications, places of employment, work history and public records . The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. According to her testimony, Heather Chavez was in Chicago with her parents the weekend Tera died. Read a reflection on the importance of community partners from our WEHC Emergency Housing Director Levi Chavez. Acquitted: Levi Chavez, center, a former Albuquerque police officer, leaves the court after his month-long trial, Grief: Theresa and Joseph Cordova, parents of Tera Chavez, leave the Sandoval County Judicial Complex, saying 'justice has not been served'. In the 6-week-long court hearing, there were testimonies from police officers, pathologists, the women Levi had affairs with, as well as Teras family. With the departure of our son, Jorge Levi Chavez, to eternity, I write that he was not a son from the womb but from the. or debate this issue live on our message boards. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, Payton Gendron: Why Payton Gendron Got Arrested? They also said hed had other affairs, including with some of the neighbors and other Albuquerque police officers. For weeks, the murder trial captivated parts of central New Mexico as residents were fixated in barber shops, diners and grocery stores. Email addresses are used solely for verification and to speed the verification process for repeat questioners. Levi Chavez was charged with the murder of his wife, Tera, but he has maintained his innocence and said she committed suicide. They married in July 2008, just a few days after Hindis divorce from another Albuquerque police officer was finalized. [1] But the prosecutors had alleged that he . Copyright 2022 by Fashionuer. 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.. Her father, Joseph Cordova, said she loved flowers and drew some all over the house. According to the prosecution, she was on the verge of filing a complaint against him for fraudulent activity. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. After the two reviewed numerous pages of Verizon records showing calls made to and from both Teras and Levis cellphones, as well as cellphone tower records, Serna declared that the records supported his clients story about where he had been the weekend of Teras death. For instance, detectives said that the night before the young mothers death, Levi Chavez was at his girlfriends house, according to PEOPLE. It was hailed as a new era when designers finally recognised 'real women' but they have once again been sidelined by stick-thin models, Taking the Mickey! 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. Levi Chavez has full custody of his two children, according to Teras parents Joseph and Theresa Cordova, Alibi reported. The upcoming episode of Dateline Unforgettable will premiere at 8.00 pm ET on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Levi Chavez was working at the Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department when he was arrested in 2011, but it wasnt until two years later, in 2013, that he stood trial for the charges against him. The donut shop has announced it has closed its South Valley and Northeast Heights locations. During his testimony last week, Chavez frequently broke down and had to take breaks when he recounted his ill treatment of his late wife throughout their marriage. While Levi Chavez has maintained his innocence and that his wife committed suicide, her family has remained firm in their belief that she was killed, Alibi reported. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. The court also heard that Hindi had been texting Levi Chavez just three weeks after his wifes death and suggesting that the two get married. 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. He told reporters, Im not surprised at all. Guitarist Ottmar Liebert bringing his unique blend of music Ottmar Liebert and his band Luna Negra will perform with the New Mexico Philharmonic at Popejoy Hall on Saturday, March 11. In December 2013, it was made public that Chavez had relinquished his police officer certification. 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. Levi Chavez maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and he maintains his innocence even today. She loved hard. Subscribe now to access decluttered news, chosen by you. Published: Friday, June 28th, 2013 at 12:05AMUpdated: Friday, June 28th, 2013 at 2:03PM. In March 2020, Nob Hill mainstay Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Dr. Chavez works in Albuquerque, NM and 1 other location and specializes in Obstetrics & Gynecology. The former officer, clenching a Rosary, immediately embraced his attorney, David Serna. The former officer, clenching a Rosary, immediately embraced his attorney, David Serna. John Fetterman Wife: Who Is Gisele Barreto Fetterman.