Mom orders son to shoot woman in walkway, then he kills her, NM officials say
A mom has been convicted after being accused of having her son shoot a woman near her apartment building’s walkway, New Mexico officials said.
In April 2023, an unhoused woman, later identified as Monique Garcia, was in a walkway near Kristina Withrow’s Albuquerque apartment building, according to a news release from the Bernalillo County District Attorney.
Garcia and Withrow got into a verbal argument and that’s when Withrow is accused of getting a gun and handing it to her 18-year-old son, Kristian Crespin, officials said.
Withrow told Crespin to shoot Garcia and he fired three shots, officials said.
Garcia, 36, was sent to the hospital where she eventually died, according to an April 2023 news release from Albuquerque police.
Initially, Withrow told officers she was the one who fired the gun but eventually admitted that she ordered her son to do it, prosecutors said.
In 2024, Crespin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in prison, officials told People.
Withrow was convicted on charges of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, aggravated assault with a firearm enhancement and tampering with evidence, officials said.
The date of her sentencing was not revealed as of April 24, officials said.