Heather Fernandez-Hoefer, Farmington, New Mexico wife charged in the stabbing murder of her husband, Robert Hoefer, 5 years after the 3rd grade teacher calling 911 to say she discovered the man dead from ‘stab’ wounds. Undone by her own conflicting accounts.
A New Mexico woman who claimed she found her husband dead inside their home has been charged with his murder, four and a half years after the wife alleged discovering the man’s body with gaping ‘stab wounds’.
Heather Fernandez-Hoefer, 51, was arrested on April 1 in connection to the stabbing death of her husband, Robert Hoefer, 49, in November, 2020.
Fernandez-Hoefer, a third-grade teacher at McCormick Elementary School was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, according to the Farmingdale Police Department (FPD).
‘inconsistent and unlikely statements are signs of deception.’
On November 29, 2020, Fernandez-Hoefer called 911 in a panic, claiming she found her husband stabbed to death in their Ivy City house
Police arrived to find a macabre scene – the husband deceased and bloodied with three apparent stab wounds, according to the FPD.
It was soon after when the investigators noticed holes in Fernandez-Hoefer’s version of events when she started giving conflicting versions of what happened to her husband.
The affidavit, obtained by KRQE, stated her ‘inconsistent and unlikely statements are signs of deception.’
One of her retellings of the event was repeated more than the others, according to police.
In this version of what unfolded, she said Hoefer had stabbed himself while he was alone in their computer room.
When she discovered his injuries, the wife claimed helping her husband clean his chest before the two went to sleep in different rooms.
Later on, Fernandez-Hoefer alleged she found her husband face-down on the floor of their bedroom.
Farmington 3rd grade teacher constant fighting over money with husband
But evidence collected from the investigation pointed to holes in Fernandez-Hoefer’s story.
Most of the blood from the death was on the couple’s bed, not on the floor, according to the affidavit.
Hoefer’s three stab wounds to his chest were so deep that they punctured his lungs and sliced his coronary artery. These severe injuries would have killed him in just minutes, Law & Crime reported.
But there was more.
Text messages between the husband and wife revealed they were arguing about money and previous romantic partners before Hoefer died.
A neighbor also told police he heard them screaming at each other the night of the incident, KRQUE reported.
Based on what the ongoing investigation has revealed so far, Fernandez-Hoefer was taken into custody at the Juan County Adult Detention Center. The wife made bail a day later on April 2.
Following her arrest, the school district confirmed the teacher being put on administrative leave.
Hoefer served nine years in the Navy as a nuclear reactor operator, according to his obituary.
He and his wife met in September 2019 and got married about a year later, just two months before he died.
‘Robert was so very proud of his wife Heather, a 3rd grade teacher, and of becoming a stepdad,’ the tribute reads.
‘He was a person of high integrity with a great expectation of others for the same.’
Inspired by his wife’s profession, Hoefer’s goal before he died was to become a history teacher.
‘He was extremely gifted in his knowledge of world history and of many things in general,’ according to his obituary.
