Former Albuquerque police officer Levi Chavez committed what is being described as the "perfect murder" when he shot his wife in 2007 with his department-issued handgun, making it appear as a suicide, prosecutors said Monday, as reported by the Huffington Post.
"What is the perfect murder?" attorney Bryan McKay asked during opening statements in Chavez's trial. "It's one in which people are convinced it's not a murder."
Levi Chavez is accused of killing his 26-year-old wife in the couple's home in Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 25 miles south of Albuquerque. Chavez is charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering.
Chavez's wife, Tera, was killed from a single gunshot wound to the mouth.
Defense attorney David Serna disputed the prosecution's claims, however, challenging the credibility of witnesses, as well as the investigation put together by the Valencia County sheriff's department. He also said the autopsy evidence is consistent with suicide.
"The truth is Levi Chavez is innocent," Serna argued.
Levi and Tera were both having extramarital affairs, prosecutors said. At the time, they were arguing about divorce, money and Tera Chavez's discovery that her husband had staged the theft of their truck for insurance money.
"It all comes together on that weekend when the defendant comes home and puts the gun he has with him in Tera's mouth and pulls the trigger," McKay said.
Attorney Serna pointed to a 911 telepone call that Levi made after the October 2007 shooting, saying he was moaning and emotional.
"It is very difficult to listen to," Serna said. "But it is the sound of a man who is in anguish," suggesting that a suicide would be possible.
The trial is expected to last for weeks and bring attention to alleged abuses in the Albuquerque Police Department, which is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for an increase in police shootings.
Serna promises to issue "point-by-point" to counter what he says are lies made against his client.
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