Trial begins for man accused of wife's strangulation death

In the hours before he strangled his wife to death, Lee Cuellar began having delusions that she was a demon who was “taking his soul” and needed to be killed, Cuellar’s attorney told jurors Tuesday on the first day of his trial.

An Iraq War veteran who struggled with mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder, Cuellar had enjoyed the day dining and shopping with his wife of eight years, defense attorney Amy Williams said in opening statements. Then he became convinced “she meant him harm,” she said.

“His delusional state created a world in which he didn’t recognize the love of his life — his beloved wife,” Williams told jurors. “He didn’t recognize her. Instead, he saw a malevolent force that he had to destroy. He saw it in her eyes that she was possessed.”

Prosecutors allege that Cuellar, 44, a former ROTC instructor at Kennedy Middle School, strangled 26-year-old Rosalejandra Cisneros-Cuellar in the bedroom of their Southwest Albuquerque home on May 23, 2021.

Cuellar faces charges of first-degree murder and criminal sexual penetration in Cisneros-Cuellar’s killing. His trial in 2nd Judicial District Court is scheduled through Monday before Judge Britt Baca-Miller.

Within hours of the killing, Cuellar flagged down an Albuquerque Police Department officer at Tiguex Park in Old Town by throwing a bottle of pills at her car, police said. The responding officer, Marcy Duran, recognized Cuellar as a fellow member of the New Mexico Army National Guard, Duran testified Tuesday.

Cuellar immediately told the officer he had killed his wife and that police could find her body in the couple’s home in the 9900 block of Rio Madre SW, near Dennis Chavez and 98th.

When Duran asked what he had planned to do with the pills, Cuellar replied, “I was going to kill myself after I killed her,” according to a video recording from the officer’s lapel camera, which was shown to jurors.

Cuellar struggled to adjust to civilian life after he retired from a 22-year career in the U.S. Army but was supportive of his wife’s successful career as a fashion model, Williams told jurors.

In the days before the killing, Cuellar’s mental health had deteriorated to the point that he had planned to kill himself by self-immolation. “He had planned to douse himself with gasoline and set himself on fire,” she told jurors.

“He informed the principal of his school on Friday that he didn’t think he would be back on Monday, and the reason for that is because he intended to kill himself,” she said.

Cuellar felt at peace with the decision and set aside the day before the killing as “Ally day,” his pet name for his wife, Williams said. The two enjoyed the day at restaurants and the Downtown growers’ market.

Cuellar later told an APD detective that while he and his wife were in Old Town, he saw a young man asking for money and offered him a few dollars, but Cuellar found the conversation upsetting, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

He told the detective he felt like “something was leaving him,” “like his soul,” and that he was on the wrong path, the complaint said. Cuellar said he and Ally went home and the two argued before going into separate rooms to sleep.

The next morning, the couple got into a physical fight “because Lee believed Ally was a demon,” the complaint said. “Lee stated Ally was going to hurt his family in ‘malicious, mean, and nasty ways,’ so Lee had to kill Ally,” it said.

Cuellar told police he had strangled Cisneros-Cuellar from behind with a white shirt, the complaint said. Police found Cisneros-Cuellar lying on a bed, covered in a blanket, with blue and purple marks around her neck.