Charles Chavez, 62, was killed inside his home on S. Madison Street on Sept. 19, 2013. He was stabbed seven times with a butcher’s knife.
“In this case, I strongly feel you have failed us all,” daughter Leah Chavez wrote in a letter to the court.
In her 621-word victim-impact statement, which District Attorney Will Furse read aloud at a hearing on March 19, Chavez described the pain she and a brother endured when cleaning up the bloody bedroom where her father was slaughtered. She also rebuked the court’s decision to commit the suspect, Valerie Espinoza, 39, of Cortez, to a state mental health hospital.
“You have failed your community by making a decision that can ultimately put them in grave danger once Ms. Espinoza is freed back into society,” Chavez wrote.
Furse expressed showed some remorse, stating, “I personally apologize to the family for leaving them without a sense of justice.”
Saying the victim’s family had legitimate concerns, public defender Justin Bogan defended the court’s decision, stating that legislators had decided what was just for people declared insane.
“Ms. Espinoza is not accountable for her actions,” said Bogan. “She is mentally ill.”
Bogan added that his client would remain in custody until the court determined that she was no longer a danger.
“Your honor holds the keys to the doors of the Colorado Mental Health Hospital,” he said.
District Court Judge Todd Plewe clarified that mental health officials in Pueblo would determine when Espinoza would be released. He added that the court could impose conditions on her release, but that he’d “sign off” on the doctor’s orders.
In a scathing two-page ruling last month, Plewe noted that Espinoza would likely remain in custody for a brief stay before being released. Mental health officials previously declared that Espinoza was sane, but Furse and defense attorneys relied on a defense-paid expert to reach a backroom deal for a ruling of insanity.
A state psychologist diagnosed Espinoza with a substance-induced psychotic disorder related to years of meth use. Her symptoms reportedly dissipated after being prescribed anti-psychotic mood-stabilizing medication.
At a hearing in January, Furse told the court that the Chavez family had approved of the stipulated agreement to remand Espinoza to a mental health facility. But after hearing the victims’ letters last week, Plewe admonished the prosecutor for leading him to believe the family was on board.
“You need to be more cautious of what you represent to the court,” Plewe told Furse.
Plewe reiterated that he was troubled with the way that attorneys had reached their agreement, but said, “The result might be the appropriate result.”
Appearing via telephone, Chavez’ family declined to comment at last week’s hearing, but in letters to the court, family members of the victim described the court’s decision as a “twisted sense of justice” that would scar and haunt them forever.
“I speak on behalf of my entire family when I say I am disgusted and terrified of such a broken and erring judicial system that would leave us so vulnerable,” wrote Leah Chavez. “It’s simply incogitable … beyond reason.”
[email protected]
