An Artesia man, Jerrold Albert Chavarria, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and murder a woman in Eddy County in 2021. Chavarria, 37, admitted to his role in the abduction and killing of Jane Doe, whose body was found shot multiple times at a remote oil lease.
Court documents reveal that on February 26, 2021, Chavarria and Jerry Romero, 47, kidnapped Jane Doe from the Budget Inn motel in Artesia, New Mexico. Video footage showed Doe being escorted into a red SUV driven by Chavarria. Approximately an hour later, Chavarria and Romero returned to the motel without her. Jane Doe's body was discovered later that morning, approximately 11 miles from the motel, having been shot twenty-one times with two different calibers of ammunition.
Chavarria faces up to life in prison for conspiracy to kidnap. Jerry Romero remains in custody, awaiting trial. The case was investigated by the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office, with assistance from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo. The announcement was made by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office.