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Left: Kristina Withrow (Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office). Kristian Crespin (Albuquerque Police Department).
A New Mexico mom who handed her son a firearm and told him to shoot a homeless woman was found guilty of second-degree murder.
According to a Facebook post by Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, 46-year-old Kristina Withrow was convicted by a jury Thursday of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, aggravated assault with a firearm enhancement, and tampering with evidence following a jury trial. The verdict marked the end of one chapter of the fallout related to the shooting death of 36-year-old Monique Garcia, who died of gunshot wounds she received at the hands of Kristian Crespin, 20, Withrow’s son, in April 2023.
On April 3, 2023, Withrow saw Garcia in the walkway of her apartment building and told her to leave because she “assumed the victim was homeless,” according to a press release by the Albuquerque Police Department at the time of the shooting. The two women then got into a verbal argument, during which time Withrow retrieved her handgun.
Withrow then handed her gun to Crespin and “told her son to shoot” Garcia. Crespin fired three shots at Garcia, who was then rushed to the hospital. She died the following day from her injuries.
In an interview with police, Withrow said that she had fired at Garcia. But eyewitnesses came forward and reported seeing a male fire shots before fleeing from the scene.
Crespin eventually confessed to the shooting and was charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and tampering with evidence. He pleaded guilty to both charges in April 2024 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Withrow was also charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, but was not convicted on those counts. She is set to be sentenced at a later date.
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