A woman who allegedly stabbed a man fighting with her husband will be back in court Jan.13 for a case review hearing, while her husband is set for a pretrial conference the next week reportedly threatening one of the witnesses – his mother-in-law.
Alexis Moreno Zuniga faces trial next spring on three felonies related to injuries sustained by a handyman on Oct. 27 at the home of Zuniga’s mother in southern Cochise County. The mother witnessed the stabbing and provided deputies a statement which incriminated her daughter.
Hours later, Alexis’s husband Anthony Zuniga was arrested for allegedly promising to kill his mother-in-law. The threat was made in the presence of the Zuniga’s two young children, according to court records.
Those records show the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) was dispatched to the mother’s home on E. Watering Hole St. after a female visitor called 911 to report a man had been stabbed in the back. The caller further reported that the victim, who did handyman work, drove away from the home located south of Tombstone.
One of the deputies enroute to the scene encountered the victim’s vehicle driving along State Route 90 near the San Pedro River. The deputy made contact with the victim, who “had a visible stab wound to his back,” Deputy Henry Whisenhunt wrote in the official CCSO incident report.
The report adds that the victim was placed in the rear of a patrol vehicle and “immediately transported to Canyon Vista Medical for urgent treatment.” From there, he was airlifted to Banner UMC in Tucson for further critical care before being released several days later.
Meanwhile, other deputies arrived at the home where they found blood on the kitchen floor. Witnesses directed deputies to a shed on the property where Alexis and Anthony Zuniga were found.
According to Whisenhunt’s report, the visitor and the handyman arrived around 8 p.m. to see the homeowner. The handyman later left for a few minutes to take his dogs home but planned to return.
It was while the handyman was gone that Anthony Zuniga arrived at the home where he, his wife Alexis, and their two children lived with Alexis’ mother. When the handyman returned, he and Anthony “began getting into an argument that turned into a physical fight” near a bedroom, the report notes.
The visitor tried to intercede but “was pushed out of the way” as the fight moved into the kitchen. It was then, according to the report, that Alexis Zuniga was also unable to separate the two men. When that did not work, Alexis purportedly said “I’m going to stab you,” which her mother and the visitor say was directed toward the handyman.
Whisenhunt’s report adds that the visitor tried to stop the attack after she saw Alexis unsheathe a knife, but the handyman ended up being stabbed in the back. Alexis and Anthony Zuniga then walked out of the residence, and the handyman drove away as 911 was being called, according to the report.
CCSO Det. Ric Cleveland joined Whisenhunt to conduct a post-Miranda interview with Alexis at the sheriff’s substation in Sierra Vista. Alexis acknowledged she and the handyman do not get along, and that her husband previously promised to “get into it” if he saw the handyman again.
Alexis told Cleveland she did not witness the start of the fight but came into the kitchen soon after. As to what happened next, the report notes “Alexis began just repeating that she ‘didn’t know’ anything.”
The interview also led to information that Alexis has epilepsy and has claimed to black out on occasion. She denied having a seizure that night.
When Cleveland interviewed Anthony, the detective learned the two men argued in the past about the handyman’s work. But the Oct. 27 fight was about the handyman’s “disrespecting” behavior toward Alexis, according to Anthony, who was also provided a Miranda warning.
“Tonight he went after my wife so I went after him,” Anthony reportedly told Cleveland, adding that the two “fought hard” with their fists. Anthony also
expressed surprise that the handyman had been stabbed, as neither man had a knife, the report notes.
Alexis was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault at the end of the interviews. She has remained in the Cochise County jail pending resolution of the charges and has an April 12, 2023, speedy trial deadline in Cochise County Superior Court.
Public records obtained by Arizona Daily Independent show a deputy drove Anthony home sometime between 1:30 – 2 a.m. on Oct. 28. Then at 2 a.m., his mother-in-law called 911 to report she had been threatened by Anthony in the presence of his children.
Anthony made self-incriminating statements to deputies, leading to prosecution for making a verbal threat to kill his mother-in-law. A Jan. 18 pretrial conference will be held at the Sierra Vista Justice Court for Anthony, who is out of custody.
It does not appear that Anthony Zuniga nor the handyman were charged in connection with the fight itself.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) took custody of the two Zuniga children.