Ex-wife jailed in death of missing man

tonight his ex- wife sits behind bars, accused of shooting and killing snyder, then burying him in their yard. tonight misa maruyama joins us live from apd headquarters with how a confession from the suspect's son helped police close the case. police say the crime weighed on snyder's step- son's conscience for eight years -- and he finally came clean ... givingolice the information they needed to put his mother behind bars. this is our first look at ellen c- de-baca--- the woman accused of shooting her ex- husband eight times ... before having her step son he her bury michael snyder here-- at their former northeast heights home. police say c-de- baca's son ... michael sheffield .. confided in a high school friend about the killing ...saying his mother forced him to help cover up the crime. two of sheffield's friends shared the information with police less than two weeks ago. this is a very sad case. the fact that it has taken eight years to bring closure. obviously this has been very tough on michael, and the reason why this whole thing came to fruition is becae he had told some of his friends what had happened , obviously that was bothering him. all along -- c-de-baca had told police snyder had walked out on the family ... after they had an argument at a phoenix restaurant in 2002. she even told her son's friend that snyder had a gay lover. but armed with new information -- police approached sheffield at his work last friday. sheffield admitted to police he heard gunshots on january 11th 2002. he says he tried calling 9-1-1 ... but he hung up after his mother told him everything was o-k. he told policee and his mother panicked-- wrapped snyder's body in garbage bags and left his body in the garage for two days. he told investigators his mother rented a backhoe, dug a hole, and dumped the body. police say he won't face charges for the killing. at this point, the district attorney's office will make that final decision but because of his cooperation and due to the fact that he is a minor at the time of the offense, at this point in time there are no charges filed against him. sheffield was 17 at the time of the murder. police say c-de- baca borrowed the gun from an acquaintance and returned it months later. investigators say that person turned the gun in to police. c de baca faces murder charges and is being held at m-d-c on a million dollar bond. we're also learning more about michael snyder's life tonight. antoinette antonio spoke to a former co-worker about the well respected mechanic-- and continues our team coverage. a six figure salary working as a master mechanic-- a gated nort albuquerque acres home on nearly an acre of land. and a daughter who was six years old when he vanished. police had always thought michael snyder's disappearance was unusual -- but as we now know, the 43 year old didn't leave on his own. "i was just surprised that anyone would want to hurt him, like i can't believe it really." danny dominguez worked with snyder in the late 90's -- as a mechanic at a westside jeep dealer. he says snyder was highly trained and certified -- giving him that master mechanic title. he was also dedicated to his job. "he was a very good mechanic who was there when i arrived in the morning and there when i left at night." dominguez says while snyder mostly kept to himself... he was always willing to help out his co- workers. a friendly guy by all accounts -- who didn't seem to show any problems... at least on the outside. but according to the missing person report snyder's mother filed-- five months after he was last seen -- snyder suffered from multiple sclerosis... and was having marital problems causing depression. "he was a super nice guy and i can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt him and my heart and prayers go out to his family." according to that missing person report -- snyder's mother and sister suspected foul play from the very beginning

Added 6 May 2026