Man runs over and kills rising artist-girlfriend after fight in New Mexico, feds say
A man faces up to 15 years in prison in connection with running over and killing his girlfriend – a rising Indigenous artist – after an argument, federal prosecutors in New Mexico said.
Santiago Martinez entered a plea of guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the November 2021 death of DeAnna Autumn Leaf Suazo, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said in a March 31 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to Martinez’s attorneys March 31 and was awaiting a response.
Martinez and Suazo lived together on Taos Pueblo, according to the plea agreement.
They drank alcohol and listened to songs in Suazo’s SUV outside their home Nov. 12, 2021, eventually getting into “a heated argument” that centered on “the future of their relationship,” prosecutors said.
Suazo wanted to break up, while Martinez didn’t, according to prosecutors.
Martinez “became enraged” and tore out one of Suazo’s earrings, the plea agreement said.
He “was angered to such a degree that” he got in the SUV and ran Suazo over, the plea agreement said.
In the plea agreement, Martinez said that although he’d been drinking, “I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was wrong.”
Suazo, who was Diné and Taos Pueblo, “celebrated her Indigenous heritage through figural paintings of strong Indigenous women, blending traditional and contemporary styles with inspiration from Japanese manga,” prosecutors said.
She had pieces displayed around the country, including at an Institute of American Indian Arts museum in Santa Fe, prosecutors said.
The institute, or IAIA, said in a tribute that Suazo “imbued her work with memory, resilience, and good intentions” and “she will be remembered as a dedicated student, a devoted friend, a kind person, and a passionate artist whose creativity knew no bounds.”
Suazo earned a bachelor’s degree in studio arts through IAIA and was admitted to a master’s cohort the summer before her death, the tribute said.
The IAIA started a memorial fund for female Indigenous artists in the program in her honor, according to prosecutors.
A sentencing date for Martinez wasn’t announced.
He’ll face 10 to 15 years behind bars, plus at least three years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
Taos Pueblo is about a 140-mile drive northeast from Albuquerque.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Man runs over and kills rising artist-girlfriend after fight in New Mexico, feds say."
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