Earlier Thursday, the fourth of Levi Chavezs many paramours to testify in the murder trial took the stand. 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. Chavez was eventually charged with first-degree murder and obstructing justice, responding to which he entered a not guilty plea and, to date, asserts his innocence. Josh Mankiewicz reports. 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. Tera Chavez was just 26 years old when she was found dead of a gunshot wound on October 22, 2007. 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. "If we had a smoking gun, I would say it was the unseated magazine," said Arthur Ortiz, a longtime New Mexico lawman,. "This was a made up pile of lies from the beginning and it took the jury approximately 10 hours to find that out. On the night of Oct. 21, 2007, the lives of one couple from Los Lunas, New Mexico were changed forever. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. Chavez called 911 to report the alleged suicide around 9 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2007. After more than 10 hours of deliberations, a jury acquitted Chavez, 32, of murdering his depressed wife, 26-year-old Tera Chavez, in 2007 and trying to make the hairdresser's . Levi Chavez maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and he maintains his innocence even today. ", First published on July 17, 2013 / 10:40 AM. The entire world around Levi Chavez came trembling down when one fine October morning in 2007, he returned to his New Mexico home to find his wife Tera Chavez dead after taking a bullet to the mouth. (AP) BERNALILLO, New Mexico - 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. Current CACU detective, and Levi's wife, Heather Chavez, was married to another officer in 2007. Levi Chavez is the Husband of Tera, and he was a police officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. Tera Chavez had been looking for a business space to rent for her salon and had an appointment to meet a landlord just two days after the day she died, Alibi wrote. 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. It appears that his wife, now known as Heather Chavez, is a detective with the Farmington Police Department. The other half of Heather Chavezs wish never came to pass. I told you guys that from the beginning. For weeks, the murder trial captivated parts of central New Mexico as residents were fixated in barber shops, diners and grocery stores. Not among them was APD officer Steve Hindi, to whom Heather was married at the time. This individual treats the department as his own private brothel, and while he runs amok, nobody does anything or says anything. BERNALILLO Its impossible to say based on cellphone records where Levi Chavez was for 15 hours near the end of the three-day period during which prosecutors say he killed his wife in 2007, according to a cellphone company analyst who testified Thursday in the former APD officers murder trial. Her husband Levi is suspected soon after because of suspicious circumstantial evidence, but there is no confession, eyewitness or 'smoking gun' forensic evidence. She loved hard. State District Judge George Eichwald ruled that one nude photograph would be available only to the jury that it wouldnt be shown in open court and that the lawyers could ask questions of witnesses about the videos without getting into the details.. Reportedly, he is married to APD Detective Heather, who was also present throughout the trial. 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. [1] [2] Levi was initially charged with murdering his wife with his police issued Glock and making it appear as a suicide. Levi Chavez has maintained that his wife's death was an act of suicide. She was an indoor girl, kind of girly. New Mexico, 2007: Tera Chavez, a police officer's wife, is found shot dead in the mouth of an apparent suicide. However, the case took a shocking turn after some disturbing facts came to the surface. 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.. READ NEXT: Social Media Influencer Set on Fire & Killed by Ex-Husband, Family Says. Valencia County sheriffs initially ruled the death as a suicide due to the "close proximity of the gun to the body. Facebook 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. Levi had spent the night at his current girlfriend's house. He will face a much higher judge upon his death and he wont have a slick as ownsh*t jew loyah to bamboozle the jury. The morning of 22 October 2007, he returned to the couple's home in Los Lunas, NM where he . Through witness testimony, the public learned that Chavez had been having a number of affairs while married to Tera Chavez. 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 . That treatment included sexual relationships with four different women and constant breakups that began with way back when the couple were high school students. 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. Levi has undergraduate degrees from UNM and CNM, as well as a law degree from the UNM School of Law. Your login session has expired. In court today, she said the calls were work related, and Keener did not press her for specifics. In December 2013, it was made public that Chavez had relinquished his police officer certification. It looks like Chavez is now working for a nonprofit that provides emergency and permanent housing to homeless individuals. Also in court this morning, jurors heard a heavily redacted recording of the deposition Levi Chavez gave in the civil case. And really, these female cops, Regina Sanchez, Heather whatever her name is, and SRO officer horrible Debra Romero have the audacity to say "I didn't know" 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 . Dr. [2] 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. 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. ACTION 7 NEWS REPORTER LAUREN ZAKALIK IS LIVE OUTSIDE COURT TO EXPLAIN. Where is he today? Jorge was born on August 28, 1961 in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. Chavez discovered his wife dead, with a gunshot wound to the mouth upon returning home on October 22, 2007. 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. After more than 10 hours of deliberations, a jury acquitted Levi Chavez . We always thought, Hell take care of her.'. Levi Chavez and Tera Chavez. She was quiet. Where does medical cannabis go from here? Payton Gendron: Why Payton Gendron Got Arrested? WE ALSO LEARNED FRIDAY THAT HEATHER-WENT TO TERA CHAVEZ'S FUNERAL. AP Photo/Albuquerque Journal, Adolphe Pierre-Louis, Colombia wants to deport "cocaine hippos" to stop them from multiplying, Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murders of wife and son. I knew Id be acquitted. On the morning of Oct. 22, 2007, Levi said he came home in Los Lunas and found his wife dead in bed from a gunshot to her mouth. 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. Chavez told jurors that he found his wife dead from a gunshot wound and thought it was God's way of punishing him. His ex-wife, Kellie May Xiong Chauvin, who was crowned Mrs. Minnesota in 2019, legally separated from Chauvin on May 28, 2020 - just three days after a viral bystander video showed her husband . / CBS News. Levi Chavez alleged malicious prosecution, malicious abuse of process, defamation, and outrageous conduct, according to court documents. M.E. News of his admittance to the university was met with some concern from alumni and other students, New Mexico PBS reported. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER THAT LEVI BOUGHT HER A DIAMOND RING. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. 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! Hindi, along with other women Levi Chavez had been involved with, testified during the trial about their affairs, Star Tribune reported. . Their additional three locations remain open. Levi was engaged to Heather Hindi two months after Tera died and married a few months later, according to PEOPLE. Heavy reached out to UNM for additional information about Chavezs admission status; however, we did not receive a response by press time. state calls heather chavez : IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR THE PROSECUTION TO JUMP RIGHT INTO THE PERSONAL DETAILS OF APD DETECTIVE HEATHER HINDI'S BLOSSOMING RELATIONSHIP WITH RECENT WIDOWER LEVI CHAVEZ IN 2007.' Levi Chavez, an Albuquerque police officer, called 911 on the morning of October 22, 2007, to report that hed come home to find his wife dead of a gunshot wound from his service weapon. The following article appeared on page C1 of the Friday, June 28, 2013, edition of the Albuquerque Journal. Levi was initially charged with murdering his wife with his police issued Glock and making it appear as a suicide. According to several local coverages, the news of his admission to the university inspired mixed reactions from alumni and other students. 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'. Mmmm detective Chavez with homicide, the text read. 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. As mentioned, Levi Chavez was charged with her murder in April 2011, but it took another two years for the case to go to court due to a series of motion hearings, civil trials and a change of venue for the trial, KOAT reported. The OTHER side of the law: Former Albuquerque police officer Levi Chavez seen here in his mugshot after allegedly murdering his wife. One key talking point during the investigation into Tera Chavezs death and the murder trial was how quickly Levi Chavez appeared to have moved on. Im not guilty. Breaking News: Levi Chavez found NOT GUILTY of all charges in the death of Tera Chavez in 2007. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Freed: Levi Chavez, right, a former Albuquerque police officer, gets a hug from his wife Heather Chavez after being acquitted of his first wife's murder, Relief: Chavez hugs his attorney David Serna in Sandoval District Court in Bernalillo, New Mexico on Tuesday. "I'm going to go to church, pray my Rosary and thank my Virgin Mary," Chavez said as he was crowded by reporters. Chavez was accused of killing his hairdresser wife, Tera, with his police-issued handgun and making it look like a suicide in October 2007. After investigations revealed secrets involving an unhappy marriage, tangled love affairs, and a web of lies, it was Levi who came under the microscope for Teras alleged murder and the subsequent cover-up. 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. Tera, a four-year-old girl, died in August 2017 when her car seat was too full of pillows and blankets while she was strapped into it. Isabel Wilkerson Husband: How Many Marriages She Did? He finally went on trial for the allegations brought against him in 2013, a full two years after the charges were first brought. 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. Keener pressed Heather Chavez on a statement she made during her deposition that her sexual relationship began in a car. 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. Published: Friday, June 28th, 2013 at 12:05AMUpdated: Friday, June 28th, 2013 at 2:03PM. 'I'm very embarrassed about it,' Chavez said, then later added. The Harwood Museum of Art's exhibition 'Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy' explores this history through archival photographs and contemporary art. Levi Chavez has full custody of his two children, according to Teras parents Joseph and Theresa Cordova, Alibi reported. 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. She testified this morning that she is currently assigned to the APD Crimes Against Children Unit. 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.