Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - A Fight for Survival - Tammy Lucero

Episode Date: April 2, 2024

When Tammy killed David in 2012, she insisted it was self-defense after years of domestic violence. Despite the police acknowledging her history as an abuse victim, she was charged with murder. Let us know what you think about the episodeThe judicial system doesn't always get it right, and that’s also true in domestic violence cases. We refer to people involved in these cases with words like victim and abuser, and sometimes “murderer”.  The problem can arise when the domestic violence victim is pushed too far, forcing them to respond to a threat to their lives with a deadly outcome. The courts can't always seem to separate in that case who is a victim and who is the perpetrator. Standard rules like “stand your ground” no longer seem to apply.https://sinspod.co/episode22sources1Domestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag!Apple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_smsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.

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At Farber Debt Solutions, we can help you reduce your debt by up to 80% and save you money. Farber Debt Solutions. Licensed insolvency trustees. Get the truth about debt. system doesn't always get it right, and that's also true in domestic violence cases. We refer to people involved in these cases with words like victim and abuser and sometimes murderer. The problem can arise when the domestic violence victim is pushed too far, forcing them to respond to a threat to their lives with a deadly outcome. The courts can't always seem to separate, in that case, who is a victim and who is a perpetrator. Standard rules like stand your ground no longer seem to apply. Hi and welcome to Sense and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast where we focus on

cases that deal with domestic violence. I'm your host, Sean, and with me, as always, is the one and only John. I am the only John in the room. This week, we did something a little different. You and I each researched a case independently of each other. We had decided we wanted to talk about self-defense in cases of domestic violence, and each of us found a case we wanted to talk about.-defense in cases of domestic violence, and each of us found a case we wanted to talk about. I'll talk about my case this week, and next week you'll talk about yours. They have a lot in common, but the experience with the judicial system for each of our victims

was very different. I only know a little bit about the case you researched, so I'm interested to hear more. Yeah, the case I researched has some frightening elements. And as we talk about these cases, I think we should all keep in mind that these survivors were lucky enough to survive. But things don't always turn out that way. Many domestic violence victims aren't so lucky. And of course, none of them should be blamed for their fates. There also might be some unanswered questions about these cases, and we can talk about that as well, so feel free to ask away. Will do.

The case I researched is the story of David Hudson and Tammy Lucero. Tammy killed David on May 24, 2012, nearly 12 years ago. David was born on March 3, 1977, and Tammy was just a little bit older than him, having been born on June 15th, 1976. Both of them were in their early to mid-30s when they started dating. Just like me, David and Tammy's families both live in Las Vegas. David's mom, his sister, his brother, and sister-in-law all live here, And Tammy has her mom, a sister, and a niece. I know from experience that it can be pretty convenient on holidays when your family's nearby, when you have to decide what you're doing for dinner and where you're going to have dessert.

In a statement given to the Las Vegas Sun in September of 2012, David's mother, Catherine, shared with the reporter that she herself was in an abusive relationship for 11 years, and David was exposed to that as a child. In a statement that feels oddly victim-blamey, and you'll understand why in a few minutes, she said that when it was time to leave her relationship, she just left with her clothing and her three kids. It seems like that's going to be important later on in the case, but my first reaction is that you would think someone having experienced domestic violence for 11 years would empathize with the

victim of domestic violence, but I'm guessing that goes out the window when your son is the abuser. According to Catherine, David and Tammy knew each other because their parents were neighbors. It sounds like in some ways, Tammy was the girl next door. In that same interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Catherine told the paper that David and Tammy first met at the fence that was the boundary between their parents' property. I've never told you this, but I had a girl next door crush when I was a kid. When I was growing up in Massachusetts, up until I was about 10, we lived next to a family with a girl who's about my age who I was definitely going to marry. So I get it. I mean, I was much younger than they were, but it seemed very reasonable to me at the time.

Catherine told the paper that David and Tammy began dating sometime in the summer or fall of 2011, and before long, the two had moved in together. They shared a studio apartment near Boulder Highway and Lake Mead in Henderson, which was just about as small as it sounds, just 500 square foot of living space. I guess that would be like living in a two-car garage. We looked at the apartment on Zillow, and it is quite small. I lived in New York City for about 12 years, and my first apartment there was a 500-square-foot studio. It had two windows, one of which was painted shut, and the other had an ancient air conditioner in it. I lived directly above a Chinese restaurant that had great food, but living above it was a bit much. I was only able to live there with my

fold-down Murphy bed myself. I would never even imagine sharing that small space with another adult human. They had only been dating for about eight months when Tammy's life changed forever on May 24, 2012. Tammy's two-year-old niece was staying at the apartment with them and around 10 a.m. Tammy was getting ready to leave for the day. She was about to leave the apartment and happened to be wearing a black spaghetti strap tank top. David saw her outfit and he freaked out. He got incredibly controlling, angry, and jealous over the tank top. He started pushing her and he grabbed her shirt and he tore it from her body. He started hitting and beating her, punched her in the mouth. He grabbed her face.

He hit her in the face and he even scratched one of her eyes. The fight was so intense that numerous items were knocked over and broken in the apartment. He shoved her down on the bed, got on top of her, and started strangling her with his hands around her throat. He let her up just as she was passing out, but then he pressed down on her neck with his forearm instead. She was fighting back hard and was able to escape from under him and stand up. As we've discussed before, being strangled like that is terrifying and disorienting, and Tammy said she was, understandably, in fear for her life when she picked up a computer cord

from the floor and started unwinding it. David took a look at the cable and moved toward the front door of the apartment, and he said, go ahead, I'm a gangster, I'm not afraid to die. She threw the cord over his neck and crossed the ends of it and tightened it by pulling each end in opposite directions. According to Tammy, David didn't resist or try and stop her. At first, he put his hand between his neck and the cord, but he took his hand out and put his arm down. His face turned red and he was making gagging and choking sounds. Tammy then wrapped the cord around his neck a second time. He started reaching for what she thought was a knife on the nearby countertop,

so she pushed him down on the chair near the front door and kept strangling him until he turned blue. Tammy said she was afraid that if she stopped choking him, he would wake up and murder her, so she climbed on his back and held him down. She didn't stop until he stopped shaking. She later said, I don't know what happened. I just lost control. Tammy then got her niece, who must have been terrified, put her in a stroller, and the two of them left the apartment. It was around noon, and the two walked down the street over to a park. Tammy was afraid that David would wake up at any moment and come after her, and she wanted to get her niece out of the apartment. They waited at the park for about 20 minutes, and she finally went inside a rec center located nearby, telling the people working at the front

desk that she had been the victim of a domestic violence incident and asked to use the phone. Tammy called her mom, who came and picked her up and drove her back to the apartment shortly before 1 p.m. She went into the apartment alone, and she saw him still lying face down on the chair by the front door, and when she put her hand on his back, she discovered he was not breathing. She quickly gathered a few of her personal belongings as well as items belonging to her niece, and in about 10 minutes, she left the apartment, locking the doorknob lock and pulling the door shut behind her, leaving the keys inside. The whole thing seems terrifying and traumatizing to me for both Tammy and her niece.

I can't even imagine. Her returning to the apartment seems to indicate to me that she didn't know he was dead, although I honestly have no idea why she would ever want to go back there again. Yeah, that's really not clear. But Tammy and her niece, after they left the apartment, they went back to her mom's house where they waited for Tammy's sister to arrive. Stephanie got there around 2.30 p.m. and immediately the two of them went to St. Rose de Lima emergency room. Tammy told the ER nurse what had happened, and of course, the nurse called 911. She told the police that Tammy had confessed to killing her boyfriend at their apartment. Discover the magic of BetMGM Casino, where the excitement is always on deck.

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There was a water bottle on the floor just as the officers walked in. A computer monitor was face down on the floor. The TV set was damaged. A piece of it was a completely insane brawl, and sounds like that apartment was just completely trashed. And on top of the kitchen trash can was a torn black tank top, just as Tammy had described. David was lying face down across a futon-type chair just inside the front door, wearing a short-sleeved sports top that said Los Angeles, gray sweats, and gray sneakers, with the computer cord still around his neck. Since the place was so small, the futon, the bed, the couch, that's all the same piece of furniture. I'm just realizing that now. I was confused about that, but in a studio like that, it makes sense. It also seems like the physical evidence really backs up all of her claims.

Like, they line up very, very well. So it makes sense that that will come into play in the court proceedings. The other part was that David's head was resting against the kitchen counter, which was right behind the chair. And a pair of scissors was nearby on the counter, which the police officers made note of in their report. The officers also went to the ER to interview Tammy, where she immediately agreed to go with them, to speak to them. She provided a DNA sample and she told them the details of everything I shared here, all of which was documented in the officer's report. Also, the medical personnel and the officers noted that Tammy had injuries on her throat and neck that were consistent with her story of what happened, that she had been strangled.

She also had additional older injuries that were in various stages of healing, which the officers noted indicated to them that Tammy had been the victim of prior abuse. The report reads that she fit the profile of someone who was a victim of domestic violence and that Tammy was afraid of David. So this seems like yet more evidence that lines up with her account. The fact that she was perfectly happy to talk to the police, the fact that she was willing to give a DNA sample, again, this all tells me that this woman has nothing to hide. Yeah, and all of this happened about two to three hours after she killed him.

She told the officers that she and David fought often and that he beat her several times a week. He had repeatedly threatened her life and her family members' lives. And according to the arrest report, she told the officer that the beatings were getting worse. And this time when David choked her, she thought this was finally it, that he was going to kill her. She said that David had been awake for three days straight and had been using drugs, and she was in fear for her life. The police brought Tammy to a mental health clinic so she could speak to someone about her victimization and experience. The police conducted further investigation into both David and Tammy's

criminal history, finding that while Tammy had some misdemeanors on her record, she had no violent crimes. David, however, had just recently been arrested for domestic violence against Tammy in January of 2012. He denied having struck her, but Tammy was photographed with a red mark on her face and broken skin on the bridge of her nose. David ended up pleading guilty to domestic battery on February 14th, 2012. It again seems pretty obvious that he was a habitual abuser. Between her claims, the physical evidence, his prior record, and the police reports, I'm not sure how there could be a question about that. This is the worst incident of all, I think, that was documented in the report

from the police. About a week, a week and a half before Tammy killed him, he had stabbed her in the head with a knife. She required 13 staples to close the wound. Tammy told investigators that she had to plead with him to allow her to get medical treatment for the stabbing because he was certain she would report it to the police. He let her get care only after she promised that she would say that she had hit her head herself and would not mention him at all. In contrast, David told their neighbors that her injuries were the result of a suicide attempt, which is a pretty unbelievable claim. You don't hear about a lot of people stabbing themselves in the head when they attempt to kill themselves.

Henderson police interviewed many of their neighbors neighbors which gave them more insight into their relationship and helped back up tammy's timeline of events as several neighbors had seen her enter and exit the apartment that morning also several of their neighbors reported seeing or hearing the couple fighting on multiple occasions although there was no clear consensus among them who was the aggressor or the victim in these incidents, that it seemed that at times they both were, their property manager said she knew that the two had a violent history. She had seen Tammy with injuries that Tammy said David had caused, and several other neighbors reported that David had complained of injuries caused by Tammy. One neighbor stated he had heard the couple fighting several times a week. He would hear them yelling and struggling through the walls of his apartment. He said he

often had to go bang on their wall to get them to stop. He said he heard Tammy yelling around 1030 that morning that she wanted to leave. David asked why and she screamed that she didn't have to tell him why. The neighbor said the screaming was so loud that he put on his headphones to try and drown out the fighting. He also said that despite having his earphones on, he heard David shout, just do it. And Tammy replied, no, do it yourself around 1130 that morning. He also confirmed that he had seen her leave the apartment with her niece around 1220 PM. he said he asked her if she needed help and she told him she was fine and everything was okay a neighbor's teenage daughter told police that she had seen tammy in the park with her niece around noon that day and it appeared

that she was hiding from someone david's sister-in-law was quoted in las vegas sun saying quote it's apparent there was violence in their relationship i just think they were toxic to each other they shouldn't have been together that seems accurate in august 2012 tammy was arrested and charged with murder and held without bail but for david's family this was much too long a period of time to wait for there to be justice for their brother and son. According to the Las Vegas Sun, his mother had stated that if their genders were reversed, if Tammy was a man, Tammy would have been arrested right away. From David's mother and sister's point of view, Tammy was the abuser in their relationship. So, it's true, all her prior experience with domestic violence went right out the window because it was her son who was the abuser. On October 25th, Tammy waived her right to a preliminary hearing and was prepared to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

At the time, the case was then bound over to the 8th Judicial District for her plea and sentencing. There was some dispute between the defense and the state during the sentencing. There was information in Tammy's pre-sentence investigation, also known as a PSI, that the defense wanted to be corrected before she was sentenced. The defendant's motion was kept under seal, but the prosecution's response corrects one mistake that they had made. It looks like there was some confusion in the documents between the victim, meaning David, and the defendant, Tammy, being arrested for domestic violence in January of 2012. So it was an important correction to make because I think they had labeled

David as the defendant and Tammy as the victim. And that kind of was confusing because Tammy was the victim in the DV incident in January of 2012. But in the court case, David was the victim of the murder. Makes sense. Ultimately, Tammy was sentenced to four to 10 years and ended up serving about four years. Unfortunately, I don't have much information to update you about where Tammy is now or about David's family. It's evident from his family's social media that he was loved and he is missed. Tammy still lives in the Henderson, Las Vegas area, according to what I could find out, and I hope that she was able to access any counseling and support that she needed after enduring such a horrific event. And I will also say the same for David's family, as of course his death and the circumstances that led up to it would be difficult to comprehend and find closure with. All in all, Tammy's statements that she made to

the police were able to be substantiated by the evidence at the crime scene, like you said, the injuries she sustained, and through interviews with the neighbors and family members. Even though the officer stated she was in fear for her life and a victim of domestic violence, she was still initially charged with murder. She was ultimately offered a plea deal to voluntary manslaughter, but she would still have to serve time in prison for the crime, despite the details of everything she went through. Normally, self-defense would be enough to completely exonerate someone from the crime, but not for Tammy. One of the key facts of this case that I was hesitant to get into because I really try to balance being thorough about the relevant facts of a case and staying away from victim blaming or shaming. But while I think we agree

that things like class and race can affect the experience that someone has in the justice system, there was one other factor at play with this couple that I didn't go into detail about, and that officer's report that states what the medications in the bottles were. But a neighbor told police that David had recently gotten his hands on some prescriptions. The neighbor said for Klonopin and Oxy and that the drugs had affected David's personality. Tammy had said something similar to the police, that David had been up for several days and was using drugs. Some of their neighbors claimed that their arguments would sometimes be about drugs. Some claimed that Tammy would ask for pills and David wouldn't let her have them. It's not uncommon for drug abuse to be linked to domestic violence. The NIH had a study come out around the same time that these incidents happened with Tammy and David, actually, that stated that studies had shown that opioid use

was associated with more aggressive behavior. I'm not sure if Tammy's alleged history of drug use made her a less sympathetic defendant, and if that was at least partially responsible for the sentence she received. There was also some discussion that Tammy might have been able to leave the apartment. From what Tammy described, when she wrapped the cord around his neck, David was standing between her and the front door of the apartment, and her neighbor did hear her yelling that she wanted to leave. Based on what was in some of the court documents from the prosecution, they seemed to think that she could have, and should have, left the apartment. It's also possible, and likely, that after being stabbed in the head by him just a week earlier and having gotten 13 staples in her head that she was prescribed these pain meds legitimately

oxy was very commonly prescribed at that time and that he was exhibiting yet another pattern of abuse by denying her medication that she needed for her pain management given all the facts and circumstances, it feels like justice wasn't really served. Next week, we are going to share two more cases of women killing their abuser in self-defense. We have another Las Vegas case that you've researched, and another case from the small town of Elko in northern Nevada. Make sure you've subscribed to Sins and Survivors so you don't miss it. Remember to follow us on social media at Sins and Survivors on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and now even YouTube.

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