Woman who killed mother sentenced
Jail term of six years handed down for 2017 stabbing
An Albuquerque woman who stabbed her mother to death last summer was sentenced this week to six years in prison for voluntary manslaughter.
Crystal Montoya stabbed her mother, Louise, 13 times in the neck, hands and ears the afternoon of Aug. 10, 2017, according to court documents.
In a statement to the court, Montoya said her mother struggled with mental health issues and had been abusive, but she did not apologize or say what led to the attack. “I can’t explain it,” Montoya said. “We both needed a lot of help.”
Crystal Montoya’s son told police that his mother woke him up and told him, “someone
tried to stab us,” according to police. He saw his grandmother bleeding and rushed to help her. His mother “walked outside and took Louise’s purse and debit card and walked back inside without paying attention or rendering aid to Louise.”
Crystal Montoya told police that her mother and son kidnapped her and were torturing her with medication and electricity, and referred to tax payments.
Montoya pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in August, leaving her eligible for up to six years in prison.
Judge Stan Whitaker imposed the maximum sentence during a hearing in state District Court, saying that Montoya had not offered any “justifiable reason.”
“My concern is that if we have you out ... if we don’t have an explanation for it, what that tells me is it could happen again,” he said. “We don’t know why. Could it happen to another family member?”
Montoya’s attorney, Ed Bustamante, called the killing a “crime of passion” and said it occurred after years of frustration. He asked the court to suspend the sentence.