Remains of Rita Jaramillo found; ex-boyfriend pleads

The family of a missing El Cerro woman was finally able to put their loved one to rest after the man who killed her led law enforcement officers to her remains.

Rita Jaramillo
Remains found after missing for three years

Arthur Lovato, 61, led New Mexico State Police agents to an area near Interstate 25 and U.S. 60 in Socorro County, on Oct. 26, where they located the remains of Rita Jaramillo, 49, of El Cerro, who was last heard from in September 2018.

Lovato agreed to take law enforcement officers to the location of Jaramillo’s body in exchange for a plea agreement. On Oct. 26, Lovato entered a guilty plea to a voluntary manslaughter charge.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of six years, with Lovato receiving credit for the time he’s been in custody at the Valencia County Detention Center since May 2019.

The remainder of the sentence is to be suspended, and Lovato won’t serve any probationary time, according to the plea agreement, so long as he led officers to the location of Jaramillo and the remains were positively identified as her.

At a Dec. 22 sentencing hearing, District Court Judge Cindy Mercer released Lovato from custody. The plea agreement with the district attorney’s office allowed Lovato to go free after he led law enforcement to Jaramillo’s body.

(Page 5/10; story continues on next page)

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