A woman from New Mexico confessed this week to a tragic incident where she falsely accused her teenage son of a murder she herself had committed. Elizabeth Ortiz-Chavez, aged 49, entered a guilty plea for second degree murder, with an additional charge for using a firearm.
Officials stated that Ortiz-Chavez orchestrated a confrontation between her son, Angelo Baldonado, then 16 years old, and another teen, Josue Ruiz. This altercation was reportedly due to Baldonado’s sister, who was pregnant and dating Ruiz, informing her family that Ruiz had physically harmed her.
Ruiz was shot and killed during the March 2022 altercation, and Baldonado was charged as an adult with murder.
But a year later, Baldonado’s brother told a woman on Facebook what really happened that night, and that woman spoke with police.
Detailing the events, a criminal complaint revealed that Baldonado’s brother shared that Ortiz-Chavez and Angelo intended to confront Josue, who allegedly attempted to draw a gun during the altercation. Unfortunately, Josue was shot before Angelo could retrieve his gun. Shockingly, although falsely accused, Angelo remained loyal and did not implicate his mother in the incident.
The brother was frustrated with the way Baldonado and his mother were handling things.
“I have an older brother locked up because of her,” he told the woman. “ … I hate her for what she did. He deserves to be home with his daughter. She’ll never know him at all because she’s a selfish b*****.”
“She’s the worst of the worst.”
Prosecutors say Ortiz-Chavez wanted Baldonado to take the fall because she thought he’d get a lesser sentence because he was a minor.
Baldonado’s murder charge was dropped, but he was still convicted on assault and conspiracy to commit murder charges and sentenced to four years in prison.
Ortiz-Chavez faces up to 18 years in prison when she is sentenced. A date for that sentencing has not been set, KQRE said.
