Girlfriend to testify in triple-murder trial
Woman pleads to lesser charges in exchange for testimony in case
The girlfriend of an accused triple murderer has agreed to testify against him in exchange for a six-year prison sentence.
Gloria Chavez, 27, faced 13 charges for her alleged role in a May 2017, 12-day spree that left three dead in Albuquerque. Her then-boyfriend Yoan Santiesteban is facing first-degree murder and lesser charges in the deaths of Samir Al-Abboudy, 44, Celina Arrellanes, 27, and Matthew Severinghaus, 25. He is set for trial in June.
On Tuesday, Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder before 2nd Judicial District Judge Brett Loveless. She will be sentenced at some point after Santiesteban’s case is resolved.
Chavez told investigators that she and Santiesteban only planned to rob the victims, but that Santiesteban killed each of them. The couple met at a casino months before the deadly spree.
Al-Abboudy, a political refugee from Iraq, was found dead in his room at the Days Inn near Menaul and Princeton NE on May 14, police said.
On May 24, the couple arranged to buy drugs from a man at a mobile home park near Zuni and Wyoming SE. When they arrived, police said, Santiesteban fired repeatedly at the seller, but instead hit his girlfriend, Arrellanes, who was sitting in a car nearby.
On May 26, Severinghaus was shot in the driveway of his home near Montgomery and Tramway NE while he was on his way to work.