Doña Ana County murder conviction overturned by high court

The New Mexico Supreme Court has reversed the 2022 conviction of Cristal Cardenas, who was found guilty of arranging the murder of her former boyfriend, Mario Cabral, alongside her then-boyfriend, Luis Flores. The fatal incident occurred on March 25, 2018, at Vanessa Mora's residence in Garfield, resulting in the deaths of both Mora and Cabral while her teenage daughter was asleep nearby. Flores later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and received a 15-year prison sentence.

In a ruling issued on March 27, a divided court determined that Cardenas did not receive a fair trial, specifically citing prejudicial questioning regarding her 6-month-old daughter with Flores, who had tested positive for methamphetamine. The majority opinion, delivered by Justice Michael Vigil, indicated that although evidence of Cardenas' guilt was substantial, it was largely circumstantial, and the improper questioning impacted credibility, an important issue for the jury.

Cardenas was originally convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and criminal solicitation, resulting in a life sentence and additional years for other charges. However, her appeal highlighted that the line of questioning was inadmissible and skewed the jury's perception of her parental character.

While prosecutors maintained that the questioning was necessary to counter Cardenas' claims of being a responsible parent, the court disagreed, concluding that the introduction of such evidence constituted an error. The opinion emphasized that there was a reasonable probability this error influenced the jury's verdict.

As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, Cardenas is entitled to a new trial, and her case has been sent back to the 3rd Judicial District Court for further proceedings. Chief Justice David Thomson dissented, arguing that the evidence regarding the positive drug test was relevant to addressing the portrayal of Cardenas as a good parent and did not undermine the overwhelming evidence against her.