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Corrales Police and law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and Arizona are on the lookout for the suspect in the shooting of a 29-year-old Albuquerque woman that occurred at a southside Corrales home on Monday (Jan. 22) afternoon.
Corrales Police identified Charles “Chuck†Kauffmann, 55, as a suspect in the killing and is seeking an arrest warrant for him on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence, according to a news release.
Arizona law enforcement was alerted because Kauffmann is from that state, Corrales Police Chief Victor Mangiacapra said.
“He’ll turn up,†Mangiacapra said.
Police said Kauffmann is believed to be armed and dangerous. Members of the public should not approach him if sighted. He was last seen driving a black Kia Rio, license number BKGF24, just after the shooting.
Anyone who spots Kauffmann or has information about his whereabouts is urged to call 505-891-7226.
Corrales Police confirmed that the victim is Elizabeth “Liz†Barela, who was staying at the home with Kauffmann. Police said they were not related and the nature of their relationship was unclear. Both were Facebook friends with the homeowner.
Barela’s brother, who lives in Albuquerque, and sister, a resident of Belen, were notified of their sister’s death on Tuesday (Jan. 23) afternoon.
According to Corrales Police, at about 5:18 p.m. on Monday officers responded to a report of a shooting at a residence on Los Arboles Verde Road. There they found Barela dead, lying outside the home with three small caliber gunshot wounds to her torso.
“There were no signs of life, and emergency personnel did attempt CPR to no avail,†Chief Mangiacapra said. The chief said a .380 caliber handgun was found inside the home.
According to the chief, Kauffman fled the scene in the homeowner’s car before police arrived.
Witnesses heard the shots and called 911.
Out of an abundance of caution, police issued a “code red†shelter in place warning for area residents at about 5:45 p.m.. That was in effect until about 7:30 p.m. when police were certain that the suspect was no longer in the area.
The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office assisted with securing the scene and efforts to locate Kauffmann. Corrales Police obtained a search warrant for the premises. The crime scene was processed by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau.
Kauffmann has a long arrest record in Bernalillo County dating back to 2002, according to online court records. He was indicted by a grand jury on charges of trafficking narcotics or meth in 2017 and earlier that year was charged with car theft. He sued the Albuquerque Dtention Center in 2018 to recover costs for injuries suffered, but the case was dismissed due to inactivity.
Homicides are rare in Corrales, a village of about 8,500 people. Chief Mangiacapra said there was a homicide in 2021 but the last one before that was in 2002 when a murder-suicide occurred. Altogether, there have been four homicides in the village since 2000.
Is there a photograph available of the suspect?