BERNALILLO, N.M. – A former Albuquerque police officer is standing trial on charges he killed his wife in 2007 with his department-issued handgun and tried to make it look like a suicide.
Opening statements in the case against Levi Chavez are to start Monday morning in Bernalillo (behr-nah-LEE'-yoh), just north of Albuquerque.
Chavez is accused of killing 26-year-old Tera Chavez in their Los Lunas home. He's charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering.
The trial is expected to last for weeks and bring attention to alleged abuses in the Albuquerque Police Department, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating.
Defense attorney David Serna has vowed to go "point-by-point" to counter what he says are false allegations and lies made toward his client.
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