N.M. woman sentenced for killing her daughter's ex and trying to blame her son

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (TCN) -- A woman will spend time behind bars for killing her daughter's ex-boyfriend outside of a restaurant nearly three years ago.

A judge sentenced Elizabeth Ortiz-Chavez on May 1 to 18 years in the New Mexico Corrections Department, the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office said. Ortiz-Chavez pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder.

According to prosecutors, on March 4, 2022, the defendant fatally shot Josue Ruiz outside a downtown restaurant, identified by KRQE-TV as Lindy's Diner. Ortiz-Chavez reportedly tried to place the blame on her son, a minor, because she assumed he would receive a lesser sentence.

Per an initial criminal complaint reviewed by the Albuquerque Journal, the defendant's teenage daughter was pregnant and allegedly said Ruiz had struck her. Angelo Baldonado, Ortiz-Chavez's son, was reportedly arrested for the shooting. Police alleged at the time that Ortiz-Chavez arranged the dispute between her son and Ruiz but became "very irate" when asked about it.

While in juvenile detention, Baldonado reportedly spoke with his mother via phone, and he said things such as, "No matter what happens, they are gonna put that conspiracy to commit murder for me."

According to the Albuquerque Journal, an individual later told detectives that Baldonado's older brother said Ortiz-Chavez was the one who shot Ruiz and that "Angelo was taking the fault."

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