Alexia Verdugo Sigala, a 24-year-old woman from Santa Fe, New Mexico, died on September 5, 2026, after being shot inside or near a residence in the Rufina Street and Atocha Road area of Santa Fe. At approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe Police Department officers were dispatched to the residence after authorities received a report describing the incident as an accidental shooting. When officers arrived, they found Alexia suffering from a gunshot wound to her torso.
Santa Fe Fire Department paramedics transported her to a local hospital, and because of the severity of her injuries she was later airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. Despite efforts to save her, she died from her injuries there.
The circumstances quickly brought homicide detectives into the investigation. Police said they learned that Alexia's younger brother, Yasell Sandoval Sigala, had allegedly been handling a rifle when the weapon discharged unintentionally, sending a round into his sister's torso. Investigators interviewed Sandoval Sigala following the shooting and seized the rifle as evidence. The Santa Fe Police Department's Crime Scene Unit was also called to process the scene and collect evidence as detectives worked to determine exactly how the weapon had been discharged. Although authorities classified Alexia's death as a homicide for investigative purposes, police accounts have consistently described the shooting itself as allegedly unintentional rather than an intentional attack.
In the days immediately after Alexia's death, detectives consulted with the First Judicial District Attorney's Office while determining what criminal charge was supported by the evidence. On September 8, police announced that they had filed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Yasell Sandoval Sigala, 21, accusing him of causing his sister's death through the rifle discharge. Police did not announce that he had been taken into custody. Instead, authorities said he would be summoned to appear in court to answer the charge. The allegation therefore moved the case into the criminal court system without a custodial arrest at the time the charge was announced.
No other person has been publicly identified by Santa Fe police as a suspect in Alexia's death, and authorities had not announced evidence indicating that someone deliberately shot her. The firearm remained part of the evidence collected by investigators, and police continued describing the case as active after the involuntary manslaughter charge was filed. As of the latest publicly available reporting located through September 24, 2026, no trial, guilty plea, conviction, or sentencing had been announced in the case.
Alexia's death also deeply affected the community surrounding Capital High School. A 2020 Capital graduate and former multi-sport athlete, she had returned to the school as a volleyball coach and was known within the program as "Coach Ale." Friends, former teammates, coaches and current players gathered around the volleyball program following her death, and the school made counseling available as students and staff dealt with the loss. Local reporting said she had taken that Saturday away from coaching because September 5 was also supposed to be a particularly important day in her personal life. Her obituary described a life centered on family, work and close relationships and noted that she had attended Santa Fe Community College and Vogue College of Cosmetology and had worked for several years as a manager at Target.
What began as a report of an accidental shooting consequently became both a homicide investigation and a criminal manslaughter case. Police have alleged that Alexia was struck when her brother unintentionally discharged the rifle, while the involuntary manslaughter charge places the question of criminal responsibility before the courts. The publicly released information does not establish that the shooting was intentional, and the charge against Yasell Sandoval Sigala remains an allegation unless resolved through a plea or proven in court.
