NM - Tera Chavez, 26, found dead in her Los Lunas home, 22 Oct 2007 - #2

[geevee]

Geevee,
I had a nice long answer for you and it disappeared instead of posting. Grrr.

Will try to reconstruct it when I get a free moment later in the day.

'Morning Mrs. Serna, and thanks for responding, will await your recreation.

 

[calamityjane831]

Well I recognize the jury's decision and I respect it. I feel though that when certain pieces of a puzzle are left out then the jury is at a clear disadvantage and I hope the members of the jury can and will see in time what was omitted from the trial, the truck that was stolen but found with his buddies serial number on it (it was pretty much a needle in the haystack that truck was discovered) the Chavez crime family, the fact that they would name a bar Angry Wife, just the whole context. I respect that other posters want answers from Mrs. Serna but I personally do not want to engage with someone who is a direct link to the perpetrator even if a jury found him not guilty.

 

[Jewels53]

Good Morning to all of our trial watchers!

I hope we are all feeling better this morning. It sure was a long night. I don't know if I have ever encountered anything like the such in my life before. Very unusual!

Which trial are we following next?

 

[calamityjane831]

Good Morning to all of our trial watchers!

I hope we are all feeling better this morning. It sure was a long night. I don't know if I have ever encountered anything like the such in my life before. Very unusual!

Which trial are we following next?

Good Morning to all. I know Jewels53, I had a terrible night. Very unusual. I want to move on. Yes which one next?

 

[Jewels53]

Although I didn't see the Hemy Neuman (sp) trial, I would like to see the Andrea S one. I think jury selection starts on 7/29. I know HLN is going to cover it, I just hope we can find a live stream.

Do you want to move over?

 

[thefragile7393]

Well I recognize the jury's decision and I respect it. I feel though that when certain pieces of a puzzle are left out then the jury is at a clear disadvantage and I hope the members of the jury can and will see in time what was omitted from the trial, the truck that was stolen but found with his buddies serial number on it (it was pretty much a needle in the haystack that truck was discovered) the Chavez crime family, the fact that they would name a bar Angry Wife, just the whole context. I respect that other posters want answers from Mrs. Serna but I personally do not want to engage with someone who is a direct link to the perpetrator even if a jury found him not guilty.

Agree. Plus there is too much of a filter on. Filters don't let all the light through...just enough to see some things but not enough to have a clear picture.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[NCB]

Like I said, we feel for her family, too. Because you don't know us, you don't know how much we care about people who lose loved ones.

To the person who said they thought we would be out celebrating this evening: that's just plain rude. Nothing of the sort is taking place. Levi's family gathered in prayer at the courthouse and left immediately to go to their church. We got the verdict we prayed for, the verdict we thought was just. We thank the jurors from the bottom of our hearts for sitting through so many weeks of tedious trial, and for their painstaking journey through the evidence presented.

I'm still happy to answer any questions I can.

Mrs. Serna

Dear Mrs. Serna,

As has been noted by others, Websleuths is predominately a victims advocacy website and you will find many of us have experienced abuse, violent crime, domestic violence, etc... up close and personal. That personal history can skew opinions. Yes, Websleuths tends to be pro-prosecution--although not always, and we do disagree amongst ourselves a good bit. There are countless loving, full-hearted people here, and most are also smart as a whip. The majority sleuth on behalf of the prosecution, but many have an open mind to other theories.

I think a good portion of defense sleuthing comes from people who are, for whatever reason, lurking on threads like this to get an idea of how their case is playing in the public eye. It is no secret that both defense and prosecution teams mine Websleuths (and other sites) in an attempt to get a pulse on how a jury may perceive their case.

I can appreciate your defense of your husband, and find it admirable. You are obviously a loving wife protecting a husband we don't know other than through a particularly poor webstream. I'm sure many of the judgments you bristle against are not representative of the man you know and love. <mod snip> Your husband was also a zealous advocate, and no one would wish for less if they were in Levi Chavez's position.

I'm sorry you felt I was rude by saying I believed (and was dismayed) that Mr. Chavez would celebrate his acquittal. Perhaps, I would have been better off keeping my opinions to myself, but this is a forum, and verdicts are emotional for everyone. We can get swept up in the moment. With that said, I don't find it particularly egregious to suggest someone just acquitted of first degree murder would celebrate their freedom. Perhaps Mr. Chavez did go out to dinner, or out for a drink, or celebrated quietly with his wife, his children, his friends, or his family after attending church. That is his right, and is something I think most people would do after beating a murder rap. It must have been incredibly stressful, and the whole family must have been in desperate need of a release.

I still think he belongs behind bars. That's my opinion, and I'm entitled to it. <mod snip>

 

[Nymeria]

I will be keeping up with Andrea S.
I also would like to follow Grant Hayes/Haze if that will be streamed.

Hopefully then we can move on to JA getting her final sentence.

This case was nice because it was such a small group, hope everyone can stay in touch with the cases coming up :seeya:


PS- Was kind of surprised to see Mrs. S show up here, does this happen often in cases?
Let's hope she is right about LC then, because from all we saw, read, and heard, he does not seem like a leopard who can change his spots, so to speak. :facepalm:

 

[geevee]

Good Morning to all of our trial watchers!

I hope we are all feeling better this morning. It sure was a long night. I don't know if I have ever encountered anything like the such in my life before. Very unusual!

Which trial are we following next?

I'm going to watch the Richard Chrisman trial, Juan Martinez is prosecuting and if cameras are in the courtroom (one site says yes and will live stream, one says cameras will probably be banned) I'll be there, but I did 'watch' one trial through tweets alone so we'll see.

I'll keep an eye on the Schneiderman trial but I'm not much in the mood for another lying, nonsensical woman trying to turn reality on its head so I don't know how much I'll participate. If there are good pics to study, that might tease me over. lol

 

[thefragile7393]

I will be keeping up with Andrea S.
I also would like to follow Grant Hayes/Haze if that will be streamed.

Hopefully then we can move on to JA getting her final sentence.

This case was nice because it was such a small group, hope everyone can stay in touch with the cases coming up :seeya:


PS- Was kind of surprised to see Mrs. S show up here, does this happen often in cases?
Let's hope she is right about LC then, because from all we saw, read, and heard, he does not seem like a leopard who can change his spots, so to speak. :facepalm:

No...not usual at all. We all know what we saw in court, in spite of what others would have us to believe. I trust logic and facts, not someone's spin on them.

 

[thefragile7393]

I'm going to watch the Richard Chrisman trial, Juan Martinez is prosecuting and if cameras are in the courtroom (one site says yes and will live stream, one says cameras will probably be banned) I'll be there, but I did 'watch' one trial through tweets alone so we'll see.

I'll keep an eye on the Schneiderman trial but I'm not much in the mood for another lying, nonsensical woman trying to turn reality on its head so I don't know how much I'll participate. If there are good pics to study, that might tease me over. lol

You echo my thoughts exactly. If courtroom is live I would love to follow it..I will get recaps anyway even if it isn't live. It was the only way to follow Drew Peterson's trial.
I am not at all interested in Sneiderman.....I had enough with Arias and I get lying nonsensical people at work constantly....I don't need to watch another trial with it happening.

 

[geevee]

Well I recognize the jury's decision and I respect it. I feel though that when certain pieces of a puzzle are left out then the jury is at a clear disadvantage and I hope the members of the jury can and will see in time what was omitted from the trial, the truck that was stolen but found with his buddies serial number on it (it was pretty much a needle in the haystack that truck was discovered) the Chavez crime family, the fact that they would name a bar Angry Wife, just the whole context. I respect that other posters want answers from Mrs. Serna but I personally do not want to engage with someone who is a direct link to the perpetrator even if a jury found him not guilty.

I think it's a wonderful and rare opportunity to get answers as close to the source as we can, we invested a lot of time and attention to this case, I think maybe we deserve that.

And considering how awful the audio/visual was during the prosecution side of the case, maybe we can get some holes filled in there as well.

I also appreciate Mrs. Serna being a good sport about it. As I laid in bed last night I was thinking that Mrs. Serna may have been reading us all through the trial and couldn't say anything in defense of her husband until the trial was over, and that must have been hard on her, as we weren't easy on him. Or maybe once she returned home yesterday she started looking around to see what those on the net were saying, found us and was stunned that we disagreed with the verdict and wanted to have her say.

However she found us, I'm glad she did, I'm not looking to be convinced of his innocence/guilt one way or the other, but I wouldn't mind some questions being cleared up.

 

[ChubbyCheeks]

Good Morning to all. I know Jewels53, I had a terrible night. Very unusual. I want to move on. Yes which one next?

Morning all.....I didn't get back online last night so am just now finding out that he was found not guilty. I'm very shocked, but probably not as shocked as the Chavez clan.

I, too, want to move on CJ....let me know where you all are going to next....

 

[thefragile7393]

I think it's a wonderful and rare opportunity to get answers as close to the source as we can, we invested a lot of time and attention to this case, I think maybe we deserve that.

And considering how awful the audio/visual was during the prosecution side of the case, maybe we can get some holes filled in there as well.

I also appreciate Mrs. Serna being a good sport about it. As I laid in bed last night I was thinking that Mrs. Serna may have been reading us all through the trial and couldn't say anything in defense of her husband until the trial was over, and that must have been hard on her, as we weren't easy on him. Or maybe once she returned home yesterday she started looking around to see what those on the net were saying, found us and was stunned that we disagreed with the verdict and wanted to have her say.

However she found us, I'm glad she did, I'm not looking to be convinced of his innocence/guilt one way or the other, but I wouldn't mind some questions being cleared up.

You're so nice I mean that with no sarcasm at all too...you really are! I just am too jaded and cynical I guess...not always a good thing. I have seen similar things happen on other threads and it never goes well. It isn't common but at times there has been a lawyer or their "representative" or a family member coming on. I have long learned that lawyers are spin doctors in many cases...from either side. I am interested in truth and facts, not spin. And this case was massively full of it. It wasn't a hard hard case, like Arias, but not many are. However I know some are wrongly accused so I went into it with an open mind...until the same patterns appeared that have appeared in so many others. In this case he was just lucky enough to have really gotten stuff so it was enough for a jury to aquit. He was better than Seacat and Drew P-I will give him that. Like OJ, CA, Adam Kaufman and others....not guilty in a court means not enough evidence to show guilt, from the juror's perspective (not mine). It does not mean it didn't happen. And I am not interested in spin distracting from that. Stuff like that makes me sick. LC has a civil suit coming up. I hope for the best for the Cordovas who saw the real Levi Chavez, and check Alb for news regarding it and post here, if someone hasn't already.

 

[Jewels53]

I'm going to watch the Richard Chrisman trial, Juan Martinez is prosecuting and if cameras are in the courtroom (one site says yes and will live stream, one says cameras will probably be banned) I'll be there, but I did 'watch' one trial through tweets alone so we'll see.

I'll keep an eye on the Schneiderman trial but I'm not much in the mood for another lying, nonsensical woman trying to turn reality on its head so I don't know how much I'll participate. If there are good pics to study, that might tease me over. lol

GeeVee there is a very good video of Andrea on the witness stand at Hemy's trial. She is very telling and is a very bad person on the stand. I will find it and post it.

http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/raw-video-prosecution-questions-andrea-sneiderman/vF7wP/

I hope that works.

 

[ChubbyCheeks]

GeeVee there is a very good video of Andrea on the witness stand at Hemy's trial. She is very telling and is a very bad person on the stand. I will find it and post it.

http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/raw-video-prosecution-questions-andrea-sneiderman/vF7wP/

I hope that works.

I definitely want to follow the Andrea Sneiderman trial; I've searched for Richard Chrisman on WS but there doesn't seem to be any link so far - ??

 

[Jewels53]

You're so nice I mean that with no sarcasm at all too...you really are! I just am too jaded and cynical I guess...not always a good thing. I have seen similar things happen on other threads and it never goes well. It isn't common but at times there has been a lawyer or their "representative" or a family member coming on. I have long learned that lawyers are spin doctors in many cases...from either side. I am interested in truth and facts, not spin. And this case was massively full of it. It wasn't a hard hard case, like Arias, but not many are. However I know some are wrongly accused so I went into it with an open mind...until the same patterns appeared that have appeared in so many others. In this case he was just lucky enough to have really gotten stuff so it was enough for a jury to aquit. He was better than Seacat and Drew P-I will give him that. Like OJ, CA, Adam Kaufman and others....not guilty in a court means not enough evidence to show guilt, from the juror's perspective (not mine). It does not mean it didn't happen. And I am not interested in spin distracting from that. Stuff like that makes me sick. LC has a civil suit coming up. I hope for the best for the Cordovas who saw the real Levi Chavez, and check Alb for news regarding it and post here, if someone hasn't already.

I think that is very good advice to keep following. I am sure this is far from being over. I feel the way LC treated Tera was awful, worse than that actually. I really wonder what he used to string Tera along that kept her in the marriage. It would beat at least mental abuse. For LC mother to talk him out of leaving Tera was the wrong thing to do.

I have never interfered with any of my children's marriage's. If they came for advise I would listen but not try to advise them.

I am sorry fragile for using your post to complain.

I do think we need to follow things in the news!

 

[Mama-cita]

GeeVee there is a very good video of Andrea on the witness stand at Hemy's trial. She is very telling and is a very bad person on the stand. I will find it and post it.

http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/raw-video-prosecution-questions-andrea-sneiderman/vF7wP/

I hope that works.

I am looking forward to seeing if Andrea will take the stand again. I feel like the prosecutors just let her talk away the last time so they would give her plenty of rope to hang herself for her future proceedings. Andrea is obviously a huge narcissist and her previous words will be a lot for her attorneys to overcome. Kinda line Jodi. Should be a good trial. We are in the dark about all the evidence prosecutors have but I have to say based on what I've seen I feel it will be a tough road to get a conviction. If they don't have tangible proof that Andrea solicited Hemy, then I just don't know (although I believe she most definitely did).

 

[Jewels53]

This is an article about the Wrongful Death Suit against LC.

The city of Albuquerque already has paid Tera’s family $230,000 to settle claims against itself and APD in the civil case. The money was placed in an account for Tera and Levi Chavez’s two children.

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/222188/news/wrongful-death-suit-still-pending.html


I hope the Cordova's can seek the rights to see their 2 grandchildren. After all they were children of their daughter Tera.

 

[NCEast]

Hello everybody! Am I ever late getting here this morning. I had the worst night ever--with awful storms, weather related phone calls after midnight, dogs that are scared to death of thunder. I moved us from room to room several times trying to calm them down--they are small dog breeds who don't appear to be afraid of a 225 pound human but storms scare the stuffing out of them. I got 2.5 hours of sleep, got up for a few hours early this morning, then laid back down for a couple of hours. I feel like myself again, my blood sugar is back to normal, thank goodness.
I had Mrs. Serna on my mind much of the time I couldn't sleep. While I appreciate her willingness to provide insight and answers, it's a first for me that a defense attorney's wife ever came on here to interact with us.
I do want to remind her that most of us have been at it, that is, watching and following trials, for many years. We have a good feel for what's what. All of my adult life has been pro-law enforcement and prosecution because that was my career in my very early adult life. We are not lonely housewives who seek out these cases because of boredom. Websleuths is filled with professional people in the legal field, the medical field, other highly educated career paths. Heck, I have a Ph.D--my screen name could be DrNCEast if that means anything, it certainly doesn't to me. I have an adopted daughter who is an attorney in the Attorney General's office in Raleigh. We all have our personal reasons for being here that matter to us individually....we are not here to beat up anybody....we just want a fair outcome for the victims. We basically get pulled into these cases because we want justice--some victims who may be local to us, others who are not.
Seemingly, there are more and more cases involving dirty cops and those drive me crazy. There should never, ever be a dirty cop....but there are unethical doctors, CPAs, lawyers....the list goes on and on. We are a watchdog group in a sense, and we do have excellent sleuthing abilities. Look at everything we pulled up on the various players in this Chavez case....the were lots and lots of questionable criminal acts committed by LC's relatives that could not be brought out in this trial. I wish the jury could have been aware of everything we discovered that they were not privy to. Had they seen the whole picture regarding LC's connections to his relatives' crimes, and how he may have taken a few lessons from how they were carried out, the verdict in this trial could have possibly been guilty instead of not guilty. Who knows.....
So, while I appreciate Mrs. Serna's willingness to try to explain to us the ins and outs of what we don't know or may not understand, I am just ready to move on. Nothing we find out at this moment in time will change the verdict.
I know in reading through the posts this morning (too rapidly--will go back over them again after another cup of coffee) several upcoming trials have been mentioned. Let me remind everybody that the Haze/Hayes murder trial in Durham is scheduled for next month and it will be a darn good one so try to squeeze it into your planning.
I'm going to go back and re-read everybody's posts/thoughts/ideas again in a moment, I need more coffee.
I hope each of you is well and that this blasted heat isn't leaking into your house as it seems to be mine. I am so looking forward to October and the cool, crisp air of fall!