Plea deal in teacher's murder angers family

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Almost four years after teacher Ellen Roth was murdered and buried in the mountains her family is still looking for justice.

They accused the District Attorney’s Office of taking the easy route by offering a plea deal to the woman they call the "master mind" behind the crime.

Investigators allege Cathleen Roth organized her mother-in-law's murder after Ellen accused her son Bryan and Cathleen of stealing her debit cards.

Now word of a possible plea deal is not going over well with the victim’s family.

There is a long list of charges against Cathleen, 40 in total, including first-degree murder.

“[Cathleen] preplanned the murder,” says Ellen’s niece, Jessica Feder. “She covered up the murder, and she did the murder."

Cathleen is accused of conspiring with two other people to kill her mother-in-law and bury her body in the Jemez Mountains.

Christopher Donovan and James Johnson have already agreed to plea deals.

Feder says the District Attorney’s Office started talking about plea deals for Cathleen back in February.

“I think the DA’s office is taking the easy route,” Feder says. “I think they are not prepared for the case."

The DA's office is offering to bump Cathleen's charge from first-degree to second-degree murder, a move that could come with a lighter sentence.

“If we go to trial, there could be a chance of a hung jury, a conviction of less than what she's pleading to,” says District Attorney Kari Brandenburg.

It is a risk the family thinks is worth taking, but the DA ultimately makes the decision.

“We can't do justice. We can only do a measure of justice, and I think no matter what happens, they'll never be made whole,” Brandenburg says.

A first-degree murder conviction could lead to a life sentence for Cathleen.

At this point, the plea deal for second-degree murder would mean 28 years in prison.

A plea hearing is scheduled for April 4.

Bryan Roth, who was in jail at the time of his mother's murder , was never charged in the case.