Trial of woman accused of killing fiancé begins
Dec. 8—CHEYENNE — The jury trial of a local woman who allegedly killed her fiancé while their children were present began Tuesday with opening statements and testimony from two of the kids.
Danelle Ashley Moyte is accused of shooting and killing Christopher Garcia, 39, after an argument in the early hours of May 16, 2020. She is charged in Laramie County District Court with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery with serious bodily injury and three counts of child abuse with mental injury.
In their opening statements, the state and the defense painted opposite pictures of the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove, representing the state of Wyoming, gave a brief opening statement, advising the jury to pay close attention to "what (Moyte) knows and when she knows it" and what other witnesses say. She said Moyte was the only one who would testify that the shooting was legally justified.
Manlove said Garcia was a convicted felon and had served time in federal prison for a drug conviction. But Garcia isn't the one on trial, the district attorney pointed out.
"The essence of this case can be distilled down into three words: shoot to kill," Manlove said.
Devon Petersen, one of Moyte's attorneys, used all of his allotted 30 minutes, arguing that Moyte shot Garcia in self-defense. He characterized Garcia as a drunk, abusive partner and Moyte as a victim of domestic violence. He also drew attention to Garcia's status as a convicted felon and allegations that Garcia broke into Moyte's home just before the shooting.
Petersen pointed to multiple witnesses he said would testify to witnessing Garcia's violent behavior toward Moyte during their two-year relationship.
"Ms. Moyte is not guilty of these crimes, ladies and gentleman — she was attacked in her own home," Petersen said, adding that he wasn't willing to concede that Moyte had even pulled the trigger.
Moyte and Garcia were engaged to be married, and lived together with several minor children. Three of these children, all 13 and younger, were in the home at the time of the shooting.
Moyte was a Title 1 teacher at Afflerbach Elementary School in Cheyenne, according to previous reporting.
Second-degree murder requires the state prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Moyte "did purposefully and maliciously, but without premeditation, kill" Garcia. The penalty range for this charge is 20 years to life in prison.
For the aggravated assault and battery charge, Moyte is accused of unlawfully causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to her niece, identified as A.E., "recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life." Moyte was 6-year-old A.E.'s guardian at the time.
Moyte is also charged with three counts of child abuse with mental injury — one count for each of the three children who were in the home at the time of the shooting. Along with A.E., A.E.'s older brother, J.M., then 9 years old, and Garcia's daughter, A.G., then 13 years old, were in the home. The charges allege each of these children was scared by Moyte pointing a gun at Garcia and at them.
Moyte was originally charged with first-degree murder. To be convicted of this charge, the state would have had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Moyte "did unlawfully, purposefully and with premeditated malice" kill Garcia. The penalties for first-degree murder in Wyoming are life in prison or death.
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday. It is expected to last eight to nine days, according to a pretrial memorandum filed Dec. 1 by Manlove.
The state's witnesses so far
Manlove began Tuesday by calling A.G., Garcia's biological daughter, who had stayed with him and Moyte during summers 2018 and 2019, and who had arrived just a few days prior to the incident in May 2020.
A.G. described her father as "a really great man," someone who tried his best and who thought of others first. She said he kept in touch with her regularly while he was prison, often sending M&Ms, along with letters he wrote her. Garcia told her to think of him whenever she ate the candy, she said.
Up until the shooting, she also liked and got along with Moyte, she said during cross-examination by Tom Fleenor, Moyte's other defense attorney. She also had a good relationship with the other children who lived in the home, she said.
A.G. testified that Garcia lived with Moyte, and although Moyte owned the home, her father told her he paid rent. A.G. said Moyte's three biological sons from a previous relationship, along with Moyte's niece and nephew, A.E. and J.M., also lived at the home.
The teenager said things were normal that summer until a party she attended with Garcia, Moyte, A.E. and J.M. During the party, Garcia went outside with another man to smoke a cigar, A.G. said. At some point, the other man joked the two were smoking weed, which caused Moyte to get upset. In his opening statement, Petersen said Moyte was very sensitive to drug use because of Garcia's previous conviction and other family circumstances, and she did not want her children exposed to it.
After an argument, Moyte left on foot with A.E. and J.M., A.G. said. Garcia and A.G. drove around the neighborhood looking for them, but eventually decided to return home, assuming a friend of Moyte's had picked them up.
While sitting in the driveway of the home, waiting for Moyte and the children to return, A.G. said her father told her he wanted to be "done" with Moyte, and that he didn't want to marry her.
Garcia eventually went into the house — though A.G. didn't know how he entered — and later told his daughter to come get her things. When she entered the home, she said she saw Moyte leaning over a second-story balcony and pointing a gun at her father.
A.G. said she was scared, but her father seemed calm, telling Moyte not to shoot and that she was scaring the kids. A.G. then went into the living room to pack her things.
After Garcia was shot and Moyte and the younger children left the home, A.G. said she went into the bedroom to find her father on the ground with "blood everywhere." Garcia told his daughter he was OK and not to call 911, though A.G. eventually did.
The state's second witness was A.E., now 8 years old. A.E. testified that she stood on the stairs between Moyte and Garcia while Moyte pointed the gun.
During cross-examination, A.E. answered "yes" when Moyte's attorney, Fleener, asked if Garcia was banging and kicking the back door prior to entering the home.
A.E. said Moyte pulled the trigger at one point, but nothing happened, and that Moyte went into the couple's bedroom to retrieve ammunition. Garcia then followed her into the bedroom, walking calmly up the stairs, A.E. said.
From where she was standing, A.E. then saw Moyte shoot Garcia, she said. Shortly after, A.E., J.M. and Moyte left the home in Moyte's vehicle, driving to the home of her sons' father.
Moyte and the children later returned to the scene after one of her older sons called 911, according to footage from a sheriff's deputy's body-worn camera that was shown in court.
Laramie County Sheriff's Deputies Ryan Wyskochil and Rabecca Konegni took the stand after A.E. to recount their roles in responding to the incident. Their testimony was accompanied by footage recorded by their body cameras.
Both described the scene as "chaotic," with Moyte sobbing and wailing phrases like "I shot him, I'm so sorry" as she approached the scene with the children. A younger child told deputies Moyte used the gun "for protection because (Garcia) was tying to hurt (Moyte)," according to body cam footage.
Deputy Konegni said she was supervising the night squad when the shooting occurred. During the deputy's testimony, Manlove called into question several of Konegni's actions that night in which she and former Laramie County Sheriff's Deputy Alexis Lucero seemed to break protocol when dealing with Moyte, who Lucero knew well.
For example, rather than immediately calling the Wyoming Department of Family Services once it was clear the children needed a place to go, the deputies called Laramie County Sheriff's Office victim advocate Brenda Ramirez Alvarado, who picked up the children from the scene. Konegni testified that Lucero and Ramirez Alvarado were in a dating relationship at the time, and that Ramirez Alvarado and Moyte were "best friends."
Konegni testified that she thought it was strange that Lucero removed the firearm allegedly used by Moyte from her vehicle and "secured" it in her patrol vehicle, where Moyte was sitting un-handcuffed in the backseat. Konegni also said it was not protocol to allow potential witnesses — in this case, the children — to speak with a suspect, which she and Lucero permitted the children to do.
Throughout video shown in court, Moyte periodically says things like "This was not supposed to happen," "It all happened so fast," and "It was self-defense, I swear." She repeatedly asks if Garcia is OK. Konegni advises her not to speak, until she eventually reads Moyte her Miranda rights.
On Wednesday, Manlove is expected to call Lucero, Ramirez Alvarado and former Laramie County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Curtis Burch as witnesses.
Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.
