NBCs Dateline: The Officers Wife examines the mind-boggling case of Tera Chavezs passing, who was found shot to death on October 21, 2007, on her bed, in the home that she shared with her Albuquerque Police Department officer husband, Levi Chavez. I wasnt worried.. Comparing Online Sportsbook Welcome Bonuses. . 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 . Her family said they knew there was trouble in the relationship and they had heard Levi Chavez was cheating on his wife, Alibi reported. By abqjournal. It appears that his wife, now known as Heather Chavez, is a detective with the Farmington Police Department. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Chavez called 911 to report the alleged suicide around 9 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2007. They also said hed had other affairs, including with some of the neighbors and other Albuquerque police officers. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. Heavy reached out to UNM for additional information about Chavezs admission status; however, we did not receive a response by press time. . Now that he has graduated, instead of being a practicing attorney, Levi works at a non-profit organization called Heading Home, which spearheads the campaign to eradicate homelessness in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Dateline NBC" The Officer's Wife (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb This type of work affords great meaning to his life, as he and his team provide emergency housing to hundreds of our communitys most vulnerable individuals each night. 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. I knew Id be acquitted. She loved strong., READ NEXT: Social Media Influencer Set on Fire & Killed by Ex-Husband, Family Says, Tera Chavezs Death: Levi Chavez Was Charged With Murdering His Wife, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER THAT LEVI BOUGHT HER A DIAMOND RING. 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. The case made national news when Officer Chavez's sexual history became known, including affairs with fellow police officers, and that he spent the night before his wife was killed with his current girlfriend. 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. The former officer, clenching a Rosary, immediately embraced his attorney, David Serna. I didnt answer the call, Heather Chavez said. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The trial for a man accused of killing his wife while he was an Albuquerque cop and then trying to cover it up started Monday. Ex-N.M. police officer acquitted of murder of wife - CBS News 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. 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. He told the operator she killed herself and that he hadnt said anything because He thought she needed time.. But the disgraced former. 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. After gaining back his freedom, Levi Chavez decided that he wanted to change his career but still be in the justice system. The case made national headlines in 2013 as more details came to light about the case and about Levi Chavez' personal life. YouTubeLevi Chavezs second wife Heather testifying during the trial. Chavez is a former Albuquerque Police Department officer, accused of killing his wife at their Los Lunas home in 2007. Dateline Unforgettable Does Tera Chavez Case: What To Know | Crime News Levi was born on October 9, 1925 in Ojo Feliz, New Mexico to Jose and Hilaria Chavez. Levi Chavez sues detective over murder investigation - KRQE In August 2013, Chavez was acquitted of the murder charges. 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. Reportedly, he is married to APD Detective Heather, who was also present throughout the trial. 'What did I tell you?' This time, Levi Chavez said he is the one who has been wronged. Dateline Unforgettable: Is Tera Chavez's cop husband Levi Chavez guilty 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. He told the 911 operator, Please tell them to hurry! and said shed committed suicide, PEOPLE reported. Serna told Chavez. action 7 . Chavez could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted on charges that he killed Tera Chavez, 26, in the couples home near Los Lunas and tried to make it look like a suicide. I didnt do anything wrong, KOAT reported. Now that so many years have gone by, lets take a look at where he currently is, shall we? Audrina Patridge Niece: What Happened To Sadie Raine Loza? 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. Josh Mankiewicz reports Friday, November . 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. 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. Aug 19, 2008 . Heavy reached out to the university for more information about his admittance but did not immediately hear back. 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. "This was a made up pile of lies from the beginning and it took the jury approximately 10 hours to find that out. Facebook gives people the power to. However, nearly four years after Tera took her last breath, Levi was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and tampering with evidence. Josh Mankiewicz reports. Joseph Cordova, Teras father, told the outlet, The culture which we grew up in, his family was from law enforcement. But the prosecutors had alleged that he . Levi started working for Heading Home in 2015. 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. A Comprehensive Review of Edubirdies Academic Writing Service. Levi Chavez. Serna will begin his cross-examination of Heather Chavez this afternoon. 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. 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. Based on the information provided on their website, Levi is now serving as the Emergency Housing Director at their Westside Emergency Housing Center. In all likelihood, Chavezs cellphone was turned off between 12:27 a.m. and 3:32 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2007, said Jody Citizen, a senior analyst for the Verizon Wireless companys legal department. Upon announcing the verdict, the family of Levi Chavez, including his current wife Albuquerque detective Heather Chavez, let out gasps and wept. He had come to the CACU office to schedule a time to shadow Heather, according to her testimony, meaning she would show him the ropes of detective work in the unit. Levi Chavez alleged malicious prosecution, malicious abuse of process, defamation, and outrageous conduct, according to court documents. The morning of 22 October 2007, he returned to the couple's home in Los Lunas, NM where he . In an indictment filed in April 2011 that charges Levi Chavez with first-degree murder and evidence tampering, prosecutors say he killed Tera in the couples home near Los Lunas on Oct. 19, 20 or 21, 2007. Hugo Chavez's Women: The Ex Wives And Mistresses Who Loved - HuffPost It looks like Chavez is now working for a nonprofit that provides emergency and permanent housing to homeless individuals. 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. A Bernalillo County deputy was reportedly not injured after their vehicle rolled in a two-vehicle, Trying to figure out where the medical cannabis program stands now is up for debate, Hospital CEO Kate Becker says 'we really want to hear from our community about what. Her husband Levi is suspected soon after because of suspicious circumstantial evidence, but there is no confession, eyewitness or 'smoking gun' forensic evidence. 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. Levi Chavez is the Husband of Tera, and he was a police officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. Be the first one to comment on this story. Levi Chavez timeline | Timetoast timelines Levi Chavez, 32, was accused of killing his hairdresser wife with his police-issued handgun and making it look like a suicide amid a crumbling marriage that included a love triangle at her hair . "I'm going to go to church, pray my Rosary and thank my Virgin Mary," Chavez said as he was crowded by reporters. However, things began turning around for the mother of two when she began making plans to leave her husband and open a salon of her own, her family said. Levi Chavez's current wife takes the stand - KOAT Please logout and login again. 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. Where is he today? Following all this, the investigating officers on this case thought that they finally found a motive; Levi killed his wife because he didnt want to get caught engaging in illegal activities and wanted to pursue other relationships without worries. Mmmm detective Chavez with homicide, the text read. Thats also where she was working on Oct. 8, 2007, the first time she met Levi Chavez face-to-face, according to her testimony. Dateline: Levi Chavez Becoming Lawyer After Wife Tera Chavez Death 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. Police officers, pathologists, the women Levi had relationships with, and Tera's family all testified throughout the 6-week-long court case. As soon as this grand jury indictment came out, Levi was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department, from where he had been on administrative leave for over a year. [1] In court today, she said the calls were work related, and Keener did not press her for specifics. The sexual relationship? One day, [the kids] are going to be of age, and theyre going to want to know, her father told Alibi. July 17, 2013 / 10:40 AM