Pretrial testimony postponed in Levi Chavez case

Tera Chavez’s family and friends were to testify this afternoon during a pretrial hearing in the murder case against her husband, former APD officer Levi Chavez, but the judge postponed the testimony.

The judge said such testimony should instead wait for the trial.

Levi Chavez is accused of killing Tera Chavez in the couple’s Los Lunas home in October 2007 with his APD-issued handgun and trying to make her death look like a suicide. He is charged with first-degree murder, evidence tampering and other felonies.

The case is set for trial this summer in Sandoval County. Last year, a state District Court judge granted a motion from Levi Chavez’s attorney to relocate the trial because of what the attorney called media saturation in Valencia County that may have tainted a potential jury pool.

Chavez was fired from APD after he was indicted in 2011.

Today’s hearing, which was before state District Judge George Eichwald in Los Lunas, was expected to include testimony that would provide a voice for Tera Chavez through her friends and family.

A civil lawsuit filed by her family included statements from some of those who were expected to testify today about Tera Chavez’s fears in the days before her death that her husband may try to harm her.

Prosecutors have hinted that one potential motive for Levi Chavez to kill his wife involved the couple’s truck. Levi Chavez had reported the vehicle stolen.

Several people mentioned in the civil lawsuit said Tera Chavez had told them that “Levi and his cop buddies” had staged the theft of the truck to collect insurance money.

Tera Chavez had tried to report her beliefs to the state Insurance Fraud Bureau.

“If anything happens to me, Levi did it,” multiple people quoted Tera Chavez as saying prior to her death, according to the lawsuit.

- Read more about the Levi Chavez case

Check back with ABQJournal.com for updates on today’s hearing, and pick up a copy of tomorrow’s paper for a complete report.