© 2024 KRWG
News that Matters.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Third Week Of Testimony In Trial Of Former ABQ Officer Accused Of Killing Wife

The murder trial of a former Albuquerque police officer accused of killing his wife will enter its third week when testimony resumes Monday in state district court.

Prosecutors say Levi Chavez shot his wife, 26-year-old Tera Chavez, with his department-issued gun in 2007 at their Los Lunas home, and then tried to make her death look like a suicide.

They allege that Chavez killed his wife in part because she discovered he staged the theft of their truck for insurance money. The two were also having extramarital affairs.

Chavez's attorney has tried to discredit the lead investigator in the case as well as witnesses for the prosecution.

Jurors heard Friday from Albuquerque Police Officer Nicholas Wheeler, who had a brief affair with Tera Chavez in the months before her death. Wheeler's wife is expected to take the stand Monday.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.