New Mexico Teen Arrested for Murder After Snapchat Scheme Turns Fatal

A New Mexico teen faces murder charges after a Snapchat scheme went wrong and turned deadly. Anna Bella Dukes, 18, was arrested Monday after her involvement in the murder of former correction officer Elias Otero, 24.

The Alburquerque Journal reports that Dukes set up Otero when she used Snapchat to contact his brother, Nicholas. Once she lured him into meeting in person, three armed men, including her boyfriend, waited at Alvarado Park. 

Apparently, the group used the same tactics in a previous carjacking. 

They robbed Nicholas of money and jewelry, then kidnapped him and brought him to his brother’s home, where they demanded Elias give them cash or they would kill his brother, Nicholas. 

Though Elias came outside, he threatened to kill them. That’s when things made a turn for the worst. A man described as Duke’s boyfriend, Adrian Avila, 17, fired and fatally shot Elias. 

Dukes and her boyfriend face murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy charges; Avila turned himself in December. 

Elias Otero’s mother, Alicia, released a statement about believing in justice for her son. 

“Every day we wish that we get justice and, you know, someone to pay for what they did to him and knowing they finally turned themselves in, it just feels good that it’s not gonna go unsolved.”