N.M. Woman Handed Son a Gun, Then He Shot Homeless Woman — and Now Both Are Convicted

A New Mexico woman who handed her son a gun and allegedly instructed him to shoot in the direction of a homeless woman has been convicted of murder.

A jury in Bernalillo County convicted Kristina Withrow, 45, of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, aggravated assault with a firearm enhancement and tampering with evidence on April 24.

Withrow was charged following the death of Monique Garcia, whom her son Kristian Crespin confessed to fatally shooting last year. Crespin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

In September, a jury sentenced Crespin to 18 years in prison.

Withrow’s convictions all stem from an incident that occurred on April 3, 2023.

Withrow said she saw Garcia and asked the woman to leave the walkway near her apartment because the woman was homeless, according to a news release from the Albuquerque Police Department.

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When the woman refused, an argument allegedly broke out between the two women, said police.

Withrow told police that when Garcia began to approach her, she pulled out her handgun and then handed it to her then-18-year-old son.

Crespin then fired three shots at Garcia according to the APD release, one of which proved to be fatal.

The APD said that Garcia, 36, was pronounced dead later that day after being rushed to a local hospital.

Withrow then tried to claim she had shot Garcia, but the APD said that multiple eyewitnesses soon informed the responding officers that a male had been seen firing the gun and then fleeing the scene.

“Initially, Withrow told police she was the one who opened fire, but later admitted that she ordered her son to shoot,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement.

Jurors did have the option of convicting Withrow on the charge of first-degree murder but ultimately declined to do so and instead convicted her on the second-degree charge.

The jury deliberated for a little over three hours following the four-day trial.

Sentencing for Withrow will take place at a later date that has yet to be determined. Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.