Warning: This article contains graphic images and video which some readers may find distressing.
Surveillance footage from inside a courtroom in New Mexico captured the moment family members of a victim allegedly attacked her accused murderer.
Alianna Farfan, aged 23, was shot and killed on January 11, 2024, at her apartment in Northeast Heights, Albuquerque.
A month later, Alexander Ortiz, 21, was apprehended and charged with her murder.
According to a press release from the City of Albuquerque Police, officers arrived at the apartment in the evening to find Farfan deceased with a gunshot wound in the bedroom.
The report continues: “Homicide detectives learned from friends and family that Farfan and Ortiz had an abusive relationship and Ortiz was upset with Farfan the day of the shooting. Farfan lived at the apartment and allowed several friends to stay there because she feared being alone, according to a relative.
“On the night of the shooting, friends eventually told detectives that Farfan and Ortiz were in Farfan’s bedroom with the door closed. They heard a single gunshot. They kicked open the bedroom door and saw that Farfan had been shot in the face. They said Ortiz had already left through the window of the bedroom.”
The report also notes that the assailant ‘reportedly ran out of the window of the apartment wearing a ski mask and a black hoodie.’ An arrest warrant was issued for Ortiz, and he later pleaded not guilty to the murder charges in March.
On Friday (January 31), Ortiz attended a plea hearing at Bernalillo County Courthouse where a confrontation ensued, involving Farfan’s stepfather and uncle who allegedly leapt over the courtroom barrier and charged towards the accused.
Video footage, posted on YouTube by ABC 7 Chicago, captures the moment a man jumps over the barrier and approaches Ortiz.
Soon after, a second man follows, and a third individual joins in before court officials, wielding a taser, break up the altercation.
In the footage, one man is later seen wiping the face of the first man being handcuffed by authorities.
Court documents identify the two individuals who crossed the barriers as Farfan’s relatives—uncle Carlos Lucero and step-father Pete Ysasi—and note that Ortiz sustained ‘visible lacerations’ during the incident.
Lucero is quoted by ABC 7 Chicago: “It was worth every moment. He killed my niece like a coward.”
According to NBC, Ysasi and Lucero were detained and charged with battery.
Ortiz’s subsequent court hearing is scheduled for tomorrow (February 7).