Albuquerque mom accused of murder to remain in jail ahead of trial

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque mother is accused of letting her son take the fall for a murder she’s now in jail for. Elizabeth Ortiz-Chavez had a pretrial detention hearing in court Thursday.

For almost a year, her son has been in the juvenile detention center, accused of killing his sister’s boyfriend in March of 2022.

“The fact that she would allow her son to languish in custody while she is out – it’s just unimaginable as a parent,” said Jolanna Macias, prosecutor.

Investigators said Ortiz-Chavez arranged the fight between her son – then 16-year-old Angelo Baldonado – and 16-year-old Josue Ruiz after her daughter claimed Ruiz hit her.

Facebook messages between her older son, Gilbert Chavez, and a woman, would reveal who apparently pulled the trigger that day.

The state brought up the messages during Ortiz-Chavez’s pretrial detention hearing.

“She is a cold, calculated, manipulative adult, who, as a parent, is supposed to guide and nurture children,” Macias said. “Instead, it is obvious that she is engaged in a pattern of psychological abuse that has culminated in the death of an innocent 16-year-old boy.”

They also discussed the thousands of sexually explicit photos officers found on Ortiz-Chavez’s personal device when she was arrested for the murder in April of this year.

“There were multiple people at that house, multiple people living there that had phones, tablets, things like that,” said Ashley Reymore-Cloud, defense attorney. “There is nothing that shows that my client knew what was on the tablet or even that she was the one that downloaded it.”

The judge ultimately decided that Ortiz-Chavez involving her children in criminal activity was enough to let her stay in jail, for now. At least check, there are no future court dates, including for her trial.