PUEBLO — The wife of a Pueblo man, who was formally charged with first-degree murder of his mother, has been arrested Thursday by authorities in connection to the homicide, according to the Pueblo Police Department.
Pueblo detectives said they arrested 36-year-old Melanie Cuevas for accessory to first-degree murder in the investigation of 58-year-old Maria Cuevas-Garcia, who was found dismembered in a suitcase in October.
Anthony Cuevas, 36, was formally charged with first-degree murder in October and remains in jail. The department said Anthony Cuevas is the man seen in surveillance video released by the department last fall, showing him drive up to the dumpster and throw away a suitcase that held his mother's body.
News5 spoke with Maria Cuevas-Garcia's granddaughter in October, who said her grandmother went by Mary.
"She was pretty much the life of our family, she loved to be involved in everything, she was very selfless and helpful," Destia Hamilton said.
Hamilton said at the time she was living with her grandmother since 2015, but moved out when her uncle Anthony "Antonio" Cuevas moved into the home.
"For him to do this, after she was willing to open her home to him and feed him and his wife, you know, it just doesn't make any sense," Hamilton said.
For months, the police department was searching for remaining body parts of Maria Cuevas-Garcia when two people in March came across what was described as a suspicious bag near the Arkansas River. Human remains were discovered and later identified as Maria Cuevas-Garcia.
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