The evening calm in a Rio Rancho, New Mexico, neighborhood was shattered on December 26, 2024, ending in the death of Adelita Valencia-Dean, a 44-year-old Hispanic woman. Around 6:30 p.m., police received calls about a shooting in progress near Willow Creek Road and Animas Court. A neighbor later told investigators they heard gunshots and then saw Adelita running from her home, screaming for help.
Adelita was being pursued down the street by her wife, 45-year-old Darlene Valencia-Dean,
who was carrying a shotgun. The terrified woman tried to hide behind a cluster of mailboxes, but the neighbor witnessed Darlene shoot her in the stomach. According to the witness, Adelita “dropped like a brick.” When Rio Rancho police officers arrived, they found her lying on the side of the street with a gunshot wound to her torso. She was rushed to a local hospital but did not survive her injuries.
Police detained Darlene Valencia-Dean at the scene. During her arrest, she told officers she had taken a large quantity of pills in an apparent suicide attempt. She later said she remembered firing the shotgun but not at her wife, expressing that she never meant to hurt Adelita and repeatedly asking about her condition. While being detained, Darlene became combative, kicking one officer in the chest and spitting on another officer and a security guard.
Investigators found a shotgun down the street from the couple’s home, which was in disarray and had holes from gunshots. Court records revealed a history of domestic violence. Darlene had been accused of assaulting her wife on several previous occasions, including a 2022 incident where she allegedly threatened Adelita with a knife. Those charges were dismissed after Adelita retracted her accusations.
Darlene Valencia-Dean was booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center and initially charged with first-degree murder, two counts of battery upon a peace officer, and one count of battery upon a healthcare worker. A judge ordered her to be held in custody pending trial.
On February 12, 2026, Darlene Valencia-Dean accepted a plea agreement. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, as well as to the two counts of battery on a peace officer and one count of battery on a healthcare worker. As part of the agreement, she accepted a total sentence of 27.5 years in prison. The case was resolved with this plea in February 2026.
