Mother of slain officer seeks answers

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - “It's sheer hell,” that’s how Marian Herrera describes the last few weeks since her life has been turned upside down. “You cannot begin to tell anybody who has not gone through it what it even feels like.”

Her son, Air Force Maj. Marc Herrera, was shot in the head in the master closet of his house.

His wife Amy claims he was drunk, said he had nothing to live for, held her down and made her pull the trigger. The autopsy confirms the Colorado native was very drunk.

But, police won't say anything about the investigation because it's not done.

“I want them to do their job, and I pray that they are doing it well,” said Marian Herrera.

A few weeks ago medical investigators did rule his death a homicide ; at that time APD confirmed it is investigating Amy Herrera.

“We never had the opportunity to get to know her,” Marian Herrera said of her daughter-in-law.

The couple had only been married a year and a half.

Marc’s parents say they had a legal agreement that Amy would not remove anything from the house.

“So as we walked in the door we expected to see Marc's home as we had seen it before, and we were truly in shock for a full 24 hours,” said Marian Herrera.

That’s because they found the shelves bare, rooms empty, even Marc's mattress gone.

“It's all we have left of our only child,” said Herrera.

They believe Amy took it all. But Marian Herrera says no one seems to care.

“(Her husband) tried for six days to file a theft report on what is missing from this house,” said Herrera. “And he can't get a call back from APD.”

She hopes every mother and father who hears about this will, “Write a letter, place a phone call. There are powers in numbers.”

Because she says police and other authorities they've contacted about the missing items, haven't helped. And, she says her daughter-in-law has already benefited from Marc's death.

“What concerns me is that she has already received $100,000 in a death gratuity,” said Herrera.

Marc Herrera also has a $400,000 life insurance policy. That has not been paid out pending the criminal investigation into his wife. The Herrera’s say the Air Force is also investigating their son's death.

Marc Herrera's will named his parents as executors. They say they are just trying to honor his wishes and give his possessions to the people he wanted to have them.