El Paso man who bragged about fatally shooting girlfriend sentenced to 35 years in prison
An El Paso man who bragged about fatally shooting his girlfriend as she slept in a car and dumped her body in the Red Sands desert was sentenced to more than three decades in prison.
Christopher Paul Maya, 35, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Feb. 1 to 35 years on one count of murder in connection with the 2023 death of Michelle Angela Morales-Nakaza, 32, court records show.
He also was sentenced to 20 years on a tampering with evidence with intent to impair a human corpse charge and 10 years on a tampering with evidence charge. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Maya was given credit for 296 days he spent in jail while his case was pending. He was originally arrested April 12, 2023.
Judge Sam Medrano of the 409th District Court handed down the sentence during a hearing at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
Toxic relationship, bragged to friends about slaying
Morales-Nakaza was reported missing March 31, 2023, by her mother. The mother told officers she had not seen her daughter since March 21.
She was last seen alive the evening of March 27 at a Baskin-Robbins at 12379 Edgemere Blvd., El Paso Police Department officials said at the time of her disappearance. Morales-Nakaza lived near the ice cream store.
As police searched for Morales-Nakaza and asked for the public's help in finding her, officers received a call April 8 from a friend of Morales-Nakaza and Maya. The friend, who isn't named in court documents, told officers he wanted to report information on Morales-Nakaza's death. The person said a friend had provided him with the information on the death.
Police met with the friend. The friend said Maya and Morales-Nakaza were in a "toxic" dating relationship for years, the affidavit states. Maya allegedly told the friend on multiple occasions that he was going to "kill her (Morales-Nakaza)."
Maya allegedly confessed to the friend that he and Morales-Nakaza were asleep in a white Toyota Camry outside an unknown house in a driveway. He then woke up and noticed his wallet was missing.
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Maya allegedly told the friend he assumed Morales-Nakaza took his wallet, so he shot her twice in the chest. Morales-Nakaza slumped over after being shot and Maya shot her again in the face, the affidavit states.
Maya was excited about shooting Morales-Nakaza and he was more excited when he told the friend that part of her face was blown off from the shot, the affidavit states.
Maya allegedly said he got rid of Morales-Nakaza's body, the car, his gun and his personal cellphone in an unknown desert location.
Officers met with a second friend of Maya whose account of the events matched the first friend's story. The two friends who spoke with police did not know each other, the affidavit states.
The second friend told police he saw Maya with a white Toyota Camry that had blood in multiple areas. The friend asked Maya if he had killed someone.
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Maya replied, "Yes," the affidavit states. He confessed to the friend that he shot Morales-Nakaza multiple times, wrapped her in a blue tarp and dumped her body in the Red Sands area, the affidavit states.
Police then searched the Red Sands area and found Morales-Nakaza's body in the desert near the 15600 block of Snoqualmie Drive.
Maya was arrested April 12 by the U.S. Marshals Service's Lone Star Fugitive Task Force at a Northeast Walmart parking lot.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man sentenced to 35 years in prison in girlfriend's death
