Fresquez Jr. initially said he was in a separate room from Gaytan when he heard a gunshot, went into the bedroom and found her lying on the bed holding her neck. In a separate version, Fresquez Jr. claimed he actually saw Gaytan falling to the floor as the gun went off. Fresquez Jr. finally told Lopez, “I did it, I shot her,” according to court documents.
Lopez refused to say what motive Fresquez Jr. gave for his actions. Fresquez Jr. told police he was “messing with” the weapon when it just went off. He also told police that a man identified only by his alias Boxer removed the weapon from the scene, court documents state.
Gaytan’s sister Ebelin Naranjo said she heard that Boxer, whose real name is James Maes, witnessed the shooting and was told by the suspect’s mother, Joyce, to hide the weapon. The gun still hasn’t been recovered, and police have so far identified it only as a handgun.
Fresquez Jr. and Gaytan had dated for six years, dropped out of Española Middle School and had a young son together named Ian, Lopez and Naranjo said. The day Gaytan was shot was Ian’s third birthday, Naranjo said.
Pamela Montoya, a next-door neighbor of the Fresquezes, said the shooting came as a shock because the couple seemed to be doing well. She remembered seeing them lighting fireworks for Ian to watch on Fourth of July. Fresquez Jr. had grown up with Montoya’s own sons and to her was just “one of the boys.”
Naranjo and Gaytan’s aunt, Graciela Rodriguez, remember the couple’s relationship very differently. Naranjo said that about two weeks before the shooting,
Fresquez Jr. shot at Gaytan’s parents’ house while she and Ian were there. Police were called but couldn’t find the residence, Naranjo said
Leroy Fresquez,Jr. shot Jasmine Gaytan on her sons birthday
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