Portales man sentenced in 2016 double homicide

A Portales man accused of killing two people in 2016 was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in prison. Jose Zapata, 39, pleaded no-contest to voluntary manslaughter charges in both slayings.

District Judge Donna Mowrer pronounced Zapata guilty of the March 15, 2016, slayings of Christina Winters Griffin, 31, and John Jesse Bustamante, 39, both of Portales.

The 13-year sentence was the net result of consecutive six-year sentences for the offenses, four-year additions tacked on because Zapata is a habitual offender, one of which was suspended, and credit for time served.

In the plea agreement, Mowrer found Zapata guilty of killing Griffin and Bustamante, but dropped charges of arson, possessing firearms as a felon, and tampering with evidence.

The sentencing hearing included a lengthy statement from Valerie Slaughter, Griffin's mother, in which she praised law enforcement efforts but said the plea agreement imposed a sentence on Zapata that she called too light.

With convictions for first-degree murder and the felonies that were dropped in the agreement, she said, Zapata should have been sentenced to life in prison plus 45 years. The 13-year sentence, she said, is "a drop in the bucket."

Slaughter described her daughter as "the sweetest person in the world."

She said the hardest part was telling her 6-year-old granddaughter and 5-year old grandson that their mother was "gone forever."

A brother who appeared on a video feed said Griffin was a good sister and a good wife and mother.

When the brother was complaining about his own kids' behavior, Griffin advised him to "let kids be kids. Let them get dirty." The brother said he takes that advice daily.

Assistant District Attorney Brett Carter said because of Zapata's actions, two families are in mourning. In addition, because of another voluntary manslaughter incident in 2002, Zapata placed another family in mourning.

Zapata also has a long history of felony convictions, Carter said.

Zapata, in a tearful statement that he read to the court, apologized to his wife and children, saying "I never sought this change in lifestyle."

He said he has been trying to improve his life, completing work for a general education diploma and working with others who have mental health issues.

Zapata's defense attorney, Nicholas Hart of Albuquerque, said Zapata has struggled with schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder.

Zapata was also incarcerated in Montana, Hart said, where he did not receive mental health care, even when he had episodes of mental illness. Hart said Zapata was placed in solitary confinement and was "severely beaten" while serving time in a Montana prison.

The plea agreement, Hart said, reflects "not just the facts of the case," but Zapata's efforts to receive a GED and his hopes of working with others with mental conditions.

Zapata's record, he said, "shows honor and dedication."

After imposing sentence, Mowrer said the case has "been hard on both sides."

Zapata's arrest in April 2021 followed more than five years of chasing rumors, interviewing possible witnesses in two murder cases, and following leads across the country.

"Sometimes it takes years for the pertinent information to come forth in order to make an arrest, but with persistent work, it frequently happens," then-Ninth Judicial Attorney Andrea Reeb said in a news release at the time.

Police said rescue workers found Griffin and Bustamante after responding to a house fire in the 900 block of North Avenue J in Portales, which had been reported at 1 a.m. on March 16, 2016. Criminal complaint documents showed Bustamante and Winters-Griffin lived in the house.

Autopsy results showed both victims had been shot in the forehead prior to the fire. Griffin had a second gunshot wound to the left temple.

A warrant obtained by The News shows Zapata's arrest followed years of investigative police work, culminating in an interview with a witness in Montana in the week before Zapata's arrest.

The witness' name was withheld by The News at Reeb's request. because the witness would have been in immediate danger.

The witness told authorities she was in the North Avenue J home the night Griffin and Bustamante were killed. She was there with Zapata and Gerardo Marquez, who has since been convicted in what authorities believe was the related homicide April 19, 2018, of Erika Zamorano, 32, inside her Portales home. Officials said she was shot to death.

The witness said she saw Zapata shoot both Griffin and Bustamante at close range. She said she left the house soon after the shootings and waited in a van, where she heard a second shot.

The witness, who is not charged in the slaying, said Marquez and Zapata then left the North Avenue J home and drove "into the country" to dispose of evidence, she said. They returned early in the morning on March 16 and Zapata set the house on fire, the witness said.

The arrest affidavit for Zapata shows authorities believe Marquez had told Zamorano about Zapata's killing Griffin and Bustamante. Zamorano threatened to tell authorities about the slayings, records show, which resulted in her being shot to death.

Marquez is serving a 20-year prison sentence for killing Zamorano. Reeb said Marquez is not charged in connection with the Griffin and Bustamante slayings.

The witness said she did not know why Zapata shot the man and woman, but others with knowledge of the incident told police Zapata and Bustamante may have been arguing over issues that arose between them when both were in prison, according to a criminal complaint..

Zapata was arrested at the home of a friend, according to the criminal complaint.