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Hurtado-Estrada pleads down in Melero death case, will testify and pay millions in restitution
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BERNALILLO — One of the caretakers charged with the abuse and death of developmentally disabled woman Mary Melero pleaded guilty to three of the 11 charges filed against her in a Sept. 2 hearing at the 13th Judicial District Court in Sandoval County.
Patricia Hurtado-Estrada, 44, of Rio Rancho, was charged with neglect of a resident, abuse of a resident, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, two counts of Medicaid fraud, two counts falsification of Medicaid documents, kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap and tampering with evidence along side another caretaker, Angelita Chacon.
Now, Hurtado-Estrada pleaded guilty to kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap and one count of Medicaid fraud. A plea agreement between defense attorney Susan Burgess-Farrell and the New Mexico Department of Justice, represented by five people, states that if Hurtado-Estrada continues to comply, her sentence is expected to be no more than five years plus five years of supervised probation. Additionally, the DOJ announced after the hearing that Hurtado-Estrada will testify against Chacon in the trial next year.
The agreement also stipulates that Hurtado is liable for restitution of $861,649.47 to the state of New Mexico and $2.5 million to Melero’s estate.
“Hurtado’s admission of guilt affords a measure of justice to the victim’s family and an accounting of the losses to Medicaid caused by Hurtado’s fraud and abuse, while also advancing the prosecution against the main culprit, Chacon,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez in the announcement. “Our priority has always been justice for Mary, and this admission of guilt and promise of cooperation brings us one step closer to achieving it.”
Judge Christopher Perez said that the court has the jurisdiction to sentence her to a total 19 1/2 years, which is the maximum years for the three charges she pleaded to, should she be noncompliant in any way, including committing additional crimes.
George Kraehe, the director of Medicaid fraud at the DOJ, requested that Hurtado-Estrada remain in jail while she awaits sentencing. Burgess-Farrell stated that this was acceptable so her client could “earn credit to her time in prison” during that time.
Hurtado-Estrada and Chacon allegedly abused Melero while she was in their care and attempted to smuggle her across the Mexican border, where Border Patrol stopped them Feb. 27, 2023, and found Melero wrapped in a carpet with injuries in the back of a van owned by Luz Scott, according to previous coverage of the case. Melero later died at a hospital from her severe injuries. Torrez called the act “torture” at the time.
A couple of years after the alleged abuse, the two caretakers accumulated more charges when Medicaid worker Keyona Zamora pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud in the case. All three are implicated in falsifying Medicaid documents tied to Melero’s abuse and death.
More recently, in June, both women were accused of tampering with their GPS ankle monitors and were remanded back to jail. Shortly after, Hurtado-Estrada’s case was separated from Chacon’s.
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Hurtado-Estrada and Zamora’s sentencing won’t happen until the trial for Chacon ends, according to Perez.
Zamora is expected to testify during the trial as well.
Scott’s involvement with the case ended after her case was dismissed.
There is a pre-trial conference scheduled for January. The trial was originally scheduled for this month but was pushed to 2026 after the ankle monitor incident.
