sa国际传媒官网网页入口

An sa国际传媒官网网页入口 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 鈥淎lex鈥� Cisneros, because he felt threatened by his wife鈥檚 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鈥檚 attorneys argued that the U.S. Army and Iraq War veteran struggled with untreated mental illness and believed his wife was a 鈥渄emon鈥� who intended to hurt Cuellar and his family.

His attorney, Amy Williams, told jurors that Cuellar was a 鈥済ood but very broken man鈥� 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鈥檚 killing, he was teaching ROTC classes at Kennedy Middle School.

The day Cisneros was killed on May 23, 2021, Cuellar flagged down an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 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鈥檚 home.

Jurors viewed a lengthy video of Cuellar鈥檚 interview with an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 police detective in which he admitted choking his wife with his hands before strangling her with a tourniquet.