Mmmm detective Chavez with homicide, the text read. Prosecutors had sought to keep from jurors what Serna described in explicit detail as sexual photographs and videos Tera had taken of herself and sent to Levi. Your login session has expired. A former cop was acquitted on Tuesday of killing his depressed wife with his department-issued gun after a month-long trial that has revealed secrets of affairs and alleged corruption within an Albuquerque police force. "Justice was not served," Joseph Cordova, the father of Tera Chavez, said after listening to the verdict with his wife. [2] 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. Read a reflection on the importance of community partners from our WEHC Emergency Housing Director Levi Chavez. Instead, only the audio position of the recording was played in court. 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. You could pretty much put her through the wringer, and shed still love you like it never happened. Levi Chavez, an Albuquerque police officer, called 911 on the morning of October 22, 2007, to report that he'd come home to find his wife dead of a gunshot wound from his service weapon. I didnt speak with her.. Bernalillo County deputy involved in rollover crash in Northeast Albuquerque, Where does medical cannabis go from here? I knew Id be acquitted. Katrina Garley testified that she met Levi Chavez when he walked into the Verizon cellphone store in Los Lunas to buy a phone in early October 2007. 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. Strict, but in a good way, he said. The lawsuit against Jones was dismissed in 2018. 'There never was a case against Levi Chavez,'Serna said. Tera Chavez. 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. 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. THE WOMEN NEVER DID MEET. 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. Levi Chavez was acquitted in that case, but many people are raising concerns about whether his presence in the next class of law students . Levi Chavez GUILTY of Corruption and Deciept and - Blogger 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. Reportedly, he is married to APD Detective Heather, who was also present throughout the trial. Under the name Heading Home, this organization has connections in New Mexico, according to its website. 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. The morning of 22 October 2007, he returned to the couple's home in Los Lunas, NM where he . One day, [the kids] are going to be of age, and theyre going to want to know, her father told Alibi. ROYALE, LESS THAN ONE MONTH AFTER TERA CHAVEZ DIED-THEN A-P-D DETECTIVE HEATHER HINDI WAS ALREADY TEXTING LEVI ABOUT HER NAME BECOMING HEATHER CHAVEZ INDICATING SHE WANTED TO MARRY HIM. Levi Chavez takes the stand in murder of his ex wife Dateline: Unforgettable's upcoming episode, in a re-broadcast, will cover the story of Tera Chavez's tragic death while also narrating the heated and controversial trial of her cop husband, Levi Chavez. Hugo Chavez's Women: The Ex Wives And Mistresses Who Loved - HuffPost Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. 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. At the age of just 15, Tera became pregnant with their first child, Andrea, and although she stayed with her parents raising the baby for the next few years, Levi was with her whenever possible. During his trial, he was found not guilty of first-degree murder and was acquitted of the charges. According to reports, an Albuquerque, New Mexico police officer Levi Chaves was suspected of shooting and murdering his 26-year-old wife, Tera Chavez, with his issued service gun after. Levi was initially charged with murdering his wife with his police issued Glock and making it appear as a suicide. EXPOSE': The Murder and Cover-up of a Small Town Girl; Tera Chavez They allege the former officer killed his wife to keep her from disclosing an alleged staged theft of a truck for insurance money. Not among them was APD officer Steve Hindi, to whom Heather was married at the time. Tera Chavez moved to Virginia to be with her husband after graduating, as hed been posted there with the Coast Guard and the young woman was soon pregnant again with their second child, Alibi reported. Josh Mankiewicz reports. 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. According to their website, Levi holds the title of Emergency Housing Director at their Westside Emergency Housing Center. If the scores of text messages, call logs, pictures of Teras children and photos of her kitties were going to be admitted as evidence, Serna argued, so, too, should the naked pictures and videos. 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. Heather Chavez said that, despite the appearance given in the text she sent Levi about taking his last name and more than 400 calls between the two from Oct. 8, 2007 to Dec. 12 of that year they did not begin a sexual relationship until late November or early December.. On the night of Oct. 21, 2007, the lives of one couple from Los Lunas, New Mexico were changed forever. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Tera Chavez Death: Why Parents Believe Death Was Not A Suicide | Crime News action 7 . 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. City questions prominent non-profit's hire of ex-cop who was - KRQE YouTubeLevi Chavezs second wife Heather testifying during the trial. 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. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of KOAT-TV. 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. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. 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." I didnt do anything wrong, KOAT reported. 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. The call did not go to voicemail. READ NEXT: Social Media Influencer Set on Fire & Killed by Ex-Husband, Family Says. A month after Tera Chavezs death, her husband was placed on leave at the Albuquerque Police Department as the investigation into her death continued, KOAT reported. 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. Episode Website More Episodes 2019 NBC News Top Podcasts In True Crime See All Alicia Castro is the former Argentine Ambassador to Venezuela and current Argentine Ambassador in the United Kingdom. Previous Post 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" Check arrest records, resumes and CV, photos and videos, news, social media profiles, publications, places of employment, work history and public records . 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. Upon returning home in mid-November not even a month after Tera's murder, that officer saw a car parked around the corner from his house. The problem here was that his girlfriend couldnt remember exactly when Levi came to her place or when he left. 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. He told the 911 operator, Please tell them to hurry! and said shed committed suicide, PEOPLE reported. 'I took her for granted.'. 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. 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 Found 43 people in New Mexico, Arizona and 24 other states. He immediately called the police, who, looking at the crime scene, ruled it suicide. 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.