Army veteran sentenced to life in wife's 2021 killing

An Albuquerque man convicted of first-degree murder for strangling his wife in 2021 was sentenced Tuesday to a mandatory term of life in prison.

The sentence requires Lee Cuellar, 45, to serve at least 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Jurors deliberated less than three hours on Oct. 11 before finding Cuellar guilty following an eight-day trial in 2nd Judicial District Court before Judge Britt Baca.

Prosecutors told jurors that Cuellar strangled his 26-year-old wife, Rosalejandra “Alex” Cisneros, because he felt threatened by his wife’s successful modeling career and widening circle of friends.

Prosecutor Christine Jablonsky said in closing arguments that Cuellar used both his hands and a tourniquet to strangle his wife in their home in the 9900 block of Rio Madre SW, near Dennis Chavez and 98th.

Cuellar’s attorneys argued that the U.S. Army and Iraq War veteran struggled with untreated mental illness and believed his wife was a “demon” who intended to hurt Cuellar and his family.

His attorney, Amy Williams, told jurors that Cuellar was a “good but very broken man” who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions and had little success finding treatment services.

Cuellar retired eight months before the killing after 22 years of service in the Army and the Army National Guard. At the time of his wife’s killing, he was teaching ROTC classes at Kennedy Middle School.

The day Cisneros was killed on May 23, 2021, Cuellar flagged down an Albuquerque police officer near Tiquex Park in Old Town and told the officer he had killed his wife. Police found her body in the bedroom of the couple’s home.

Jurors viewed a lengthy video of Cuellar’s interview with an Albuquerque police detective in which he admitted choking his wife with his hands before strangling her with a tourniquet.