She Blamed Her Teen Son For A Murder She Committed, Thinking He Would Serve A Lesser Sentence
A New Mexico mom killed her daughter’s 16-year-old boyfriend and attempted to blame the slaying on her son. Now, the truth has come out, and she is facing up to 18 years in prison.
The crime took place outside a downtown Albuquerque eatery called Lindy’s Diner on March 4, 2022, when 49-year-old Elizabeth Ortiz-Chavez shot Josue Ruiz.
That night, Elizabeth’s 16-year-old son, Angelo Baldonado, confronted her daughter’s boyfriend, Josue, at the diner near Fifth Street and Central Avenue.
Then, the teens went into an alley behind the diner and were preparing to fight when gunshots were fired. Elizabeth’s daughter, who was pregnant, allegedly told relatives that Josue had hit her.
Josue was found dead, and Angelo was initially arrested and charged with first-degree murder. However, witnesses at the scene claimed Elizabeth was actually the one who shot Josue.
Later, once Angelo was in jail, phone calls between him and his mother revealed that Elizabeth was close to revealing what really happened. However, Angelo reportedly urged her not to.
“Ortiz-Chavez tried to blame her son for the murder because he’s a juvenile, and she believed he would face a lesser sentence,” stated Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.
It was Elizabeth’s other son who exposed the truth in March 2023. That month, while speaking to a woman on Facebook, he opened up about the real timeline of events, and she went to the police.
“She advised me that during their conversations, [Angelo’s brother] did advise her that Angelo and his mother, Elizabeth Ortiz-Chavez, had gone to fight Josue and that Josue tried to pull a gun on them and that he got shot before he could take out his gun, but that detectives had charged his brother with the murder,” the investigating detective said in a complaint.
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Angelo’s brother was supposedly frustrated that his mother would let her own son take the fall.
“I have an older brother locked up because of her. I hate her for what she did. He deserved to be home with his daughter. She’ll never know him at all because she’s a selfish [redacted],” Angelo’s brother told the woman on Facebook.
After the woman shared their Facebook messages with authorities, Elizabeth was arrested. She’s been held without bond at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Albuquerque since May 2023.
On January 15, Elizabeth pled guilty to second-degree murder and will be facing up to 18 years behind bars. However, her sentencing date still has to be set, according to the district attorney’s office.
As for her son, Angelo, he switched his plea in August 2023. He pled guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and a felony assault charge.
Angelo is currently at the Bernalillo County Youth Detention Center, where he will reportedly serve his sentence until he is 21 years old.
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