Albuquerque, NM: City settles suit in death of cop wife

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The city of Albuquerque has settled a lawsuit with the family of Tera Chavez, the wife of an Albuquerque Police Department officer shot to death in her home with her husband's department-issued pistol.

Tera Chavez's family has always suspected her husband killed her and staged the scene to look like a suicide.

The city agreed to pay Tera Chavez's estate $230,000, but in the settlement the city does not admit any guilt.

"We don't like cutting a check like this, but there are times when you make an economic decision, and that is what we did in this case," Deputy City Attorney Katherine Levy said.
The wrongful death lawsuit against Levi Chavez, the city of Albuquerque, APD, Police Chief Ray Schultz and several officers claimed Chavez killed his wife and made it look like a suicide. The suit also alleged several APD officers destroyed evidence at the scene, which was out of their jurisdiction in the first place. The suit also claimed APD failed to properly train and supervise Chavez, which contributed to his wife's death.

Chavez claims he came home on Oct. 21, 2007, to find Tera had killed herself. While her death was initially declared a suicide by the Office of the Medical Investigator, it was later changed to "undetermined" because of the suspicious circumstances. Those circumstances included Levi Chavez changing his wife's life insurance policy to include a payout for suicide a few weeks before she died.

While the city's part of this lawsuit is over, Levi Chavez is not yet in the clear. The settlement only covers his actions as a police officer. A wrongful death lawsuit against him still stands and is scheduled for trial in May. Attorney Brad Hall, who represents Tera Chavez's family, said the family is anxious for the trial. He says there is a lot to this case that will be revealed during this trial, information the family wants the public to hear.

This case has never been about money for the family, he added.

"Justice plain and simple," said Hall. "There is no friend or relative of Tera's that believes this is a suicide." Hall says the family is also hopeful the criminal justice system will work in this case. To this point no criminal charges have been filed against Levi Chavez. The district attorney says he hopes to take the case to a grand jury in the next few months.
Levi Chavez is still on APD's payroll but has been assigned to work in the city's Animal Welfare Department.