The New Mexico Supreme Court Brings a Family Peace Five Years After a Brutal Murder
In a June 24, 2021 opinion by Senior Justice Barbara Vigil, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the conviction of Alejandro Azamar-Nolasco for the brutal 2016 murder of Mandy Vanlandingham in Raton. Chief Justice Michael Vigil, Associate Justice C. Shannon Bacon, and Retired Justice Judith Nakamura (sitting by designation in place of Associate Justice Julie Vargas) joined Justice Vigil’s opinion. Associate Justice David Thomson concurred in part and dissented in part with the opinion.
A Brutal Murder
Azamar-Nolasco murdered Vanlandingham on July 20, 2016, after a long period of stalking her, following Vanlandingham’s choice to terminate their relationship. Azamar-Nolasco slashed Vanlandingham’s tires after she broke up with him, leading her to obtain a domestic violence restraining order against Azamar-Nolasco. Disregarding the restraining order, Azamar-Nolasco stalked Vanlandingham at length before breaking into her home on the morning of July 20, 2016. Azamar-Nolasco discovered Vanlandingham in her bathroom, where he bashed her head against the bathtub, ripping out a large clump of her hair. Azamar-Nolasco then held Vanlandingham’s head under the bathtub’s running faucet, effectively waterboarding her as he strangled Vanlandingham to…
