Rexburg man gets prison for murdering 35-year-old woman in front of her children
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REXBURG — A 33-year-old man wept heavily throughout his sentencing Thursday as he was dealt the consequences for killing a mother of four in front of her children.
District Judge Steven Boyce sentenced Fabian Hernandez to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole after 35 years and receive credit for seven months already served in jail.
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Hernandez was initially charged with the first-degree murder of 35-year-old Ariana Ramos Chavez, felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.
On Aug. 22, Hernandez shot and killed Ramos Chavez at their home in front of her children. According to court testimony, Hernandez was the biological father of two of the children and the stepfather of the other two.
Obituary for Ariana Chavez | Flamm Funeral Home
On Dec. 16, he accepted a plea agreement where he agreed to plead guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder with an underlying life sentence in exchange for the remaining counts to be dropped.
First-degree murder involves premeditation, while second-degree murder does not. This means Hernandez admitted to killing Ramos Chavez but said he did not plan the murder before it happened. The prosecution also agreed not to file charges for the alleged trafficking of methamphetamine.
Sentencing
Hernandez’s sentencing began with a heart-wrenching 911 recording from the night of Ramos Chavez’s murder.
One of Ramos Chavez’s daughters frantically called 911 after reportedly watching Hernandez shoot her mother multiple times.
Halfway through the first playback, Boyce called for a five-minute recess, because the emotions and cries in the courtroom, from both Hernandez and the victim’s family, were so loud that the recording was difficult to hear.
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Boyce noted the recording was essential to play in open court for sentencing purposes and played it again in its entirety.
You can listen to it in the video player above, but EastIdahoNews.com urges extreme caution, as it can be very upsetting to some viewers.
The prosecution then allowed multiple family members of Ariana Ramos Chavez to speak, including one of her minor children, her three siblings and her mother. One of Ramos Chavez’s brothers spoke directly to Hernandez, reminding him that he took away his own children’s mother.
“You took their mother, man. You took their mom. Your own kids’ mom,” said the brother. “They don’t have a mom anymore. Your own blood.”
Ramos Chavez’s sister described the night she found out her sister had been murdered and the toll it’s taken on their family.
“The night I got the call that my sister died … every day I pray that it was just a nightmare,” said the sister. “After a while, it set it that my sister wasn’t coming back due to an act of selfish rage.”
Hernandez’s defense attorney, Jim Archibald, argued his client does not have an anger problem and said the murder occurred because of his methamphetamine addiction.
According to Archibald, Ramos Chavez had tried to kick Hernandez out of the home on the night of the killing to try and keep her children away from the drugs he possessed and was actively using.
Archibald said Hernandez shot her in the “heat of passion”, and asked Boyce to give his client a life sentence, with parole after 10 years imprisonment.
“This case is not the worst of the worst, and it’s not the most justified either. So what do we do now?” said Archibald. “Without his addiction, by all accounts these reference letters that the court has received, he was hardworking, he was compassionate, he was kind. He was involved with his family. So, how do we punish him for what happened? He needs to be punished. He’s the first one to tell you that. ‘I’m here for Ariana. I’m here to get punished.'”
Archibald also stated that Hernandez has never denied he committed the crime and did not want to take it to trial to spare the children from being further traumatized by having to testify.
Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood recommended that Hernandez face a sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole until he has completed 45 years in prison.
According to Wood, the average life span of a woman in the United States is 80.2 years. If that is the case, says Wood, Hernandez stole 45 years of Ramos Chavez’s life, which is how much prison time he should spend, at a minimum.
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“This crime is not due to drugs. The use of drugs is not a defense; it is a non-mitigating factor,” said Wood. “This crime arose absolutely out of an angry confrontation between a mother who wanted to protect herself and her children from the defendant’s drug use, and his anger over that, and him shooting her out of anger.”
Hernandez then addresses the victim’s family and the court through sobs, apologizing for his actions and saying he regrets them every day and wants to be punished, even ending his statement with the phrase, “Justice for Ariana.”
“I realize that today is not a court date for me, but it’s a court date for Ari. It’s for justice for Ari. I gotta pay for what I did,” said Hernandez. “I miss your hugs and kisses. How you would show up with the kids at the job site to bring me food.”
Before pronouncing the sentence, Boyce explained to Hernandez that while he does now have an extensive criminal record, there are many aggravating factors to this case, such as the fact that the crime occurred in front of children, that he had a gun as a convicted felon, and that Ramos Chavez was shot multiple times.
“I think other than what happens when you are using controlled substances, you’re a good productive member of society, and you had a good relationship with a good person,” said Boyce. “What you did do can’t be forgiven, can’t be reversed. She can’t be brought back. These children don’t have a mother.”
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