COURTS
Former caregiver takes plea in disabled woman's death
Prosecutors described woman's 2023 death as 'torture'
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One of two women charged in the 2023 death of a disabled woman in their care entered a plea this week to six felonies and faces up to 30 years in prison.
Angelita Chacon, 55, was arrested after federal officers found 38-year-old Mary Melero severely injured in the back of a van as Chacon and her co-defendant tried to cross the border into Mexico, prosecutors said. Melero later died in an El Paso hospital.
Prosecutors with the New Mexico Department of Justice alleged Patricia Hurtado and Chacon inflicted 鈥渉orrific鈥� injuries on Melero at a home in Sandoval County and were attempting to transport the disabled woman out of the United States to conceal their crimes.
Melero was unresponsive and unable to stand when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found her lying on the floor of the van in February 2023, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She was severely dehydrated, drugged and had open wounds, including bedsores with exposed bone, prosecutors said.
Chacon pleaded no contest to charges including abuse of a resident resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and Medicaid fraud and faces 20 to 30 years in prison. Judge Christopher Perez accepted Chacon's plea Monday in 13th Judicial District Court but had not scheduled her sentencing hearing.
Chacon's co-defendant, Hurtado, 45, pleaded guilty in September to three felonies and faces up to five years in prison. Her sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Chacon and Hurtado were being paid through the state's Developmental Disabilities Waiver program for Melero's care. Their plea agreements require them to jointly pay $861,649 in restitution to the state and $2.5 million to Melero's estate.
Melero's death prompted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state officials to perform unannounced wellness checks for 6,815 people who received care through the state DD Waiver program. The visits uncovered six cases of possible neglect which were put on corrective action plans, but none were removed from their living situations, officials said in July 2023.
Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez in 2023 described Melero's treatment as "torture."
鈥淢ary Melero deserved care, dignity, and protection, not exploitation and harm," Torrez said this week in a statement. "Today鈥檚 conviction ensures accountability and makes clear that anyone who exploits vulnerable individuals will face severe, life-altering consequences."
