A woman who abused and neglected a disabled Rio Rancho woman to death will spend at least 20 years in prison after a plea agreement was accepted by a district court judge Monday, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The caretaker was charged in May 2023 with the abuse and neglect of Mary Melero, a 38-year-old Rio Rancho woman with developmental disabilities who died April 7, 2023, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents found her in a van near the U.S.-Mexico border. Melero was severely dehydrated, drugged and had open wounds, exposed bone from chronic bedsores, bruises, lacerations and ligature marks consistent with prolonged restraint. She had been left in a bathtub in her own feces for days at a time, according to the arrest warrant.
“Mary Melero deserved care, dignity, and protection, not exploitation and harm,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement. “Today’s conviction ensures accountability and makes clear that anyone who exploits vulnerable individuals will face severe, life-altering consequences.”
The caretaker and her co-defendant, who secured a cooperation agreement with prosecutors in September 2025, are jointly ordered to pay $3.3 million in restitution: $861,649 to the State of New Mexico for Medicaid fraud and $2.5 million to Melero’s estate. Formal sentencing is scheduled for a later date.
The case involved the El Paso and Albuquerque FBI field offices, New Mexico State Police, Rio Rancho Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.
Report suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult in New Mexico:
- Adult Protective Services: 1-866-654-3219
- NM Medicaid Fraud & Elder Abuse Bureau: (505) 222-9100
- Online:nmattorneygeneral.gov