The mother and son who murdered an Albuquerque mail carrier, burned her body and left her on the mesa, admitted Tuesday to what they did.
Alissa Bickett and her son, Drake, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Marilyn Gandert. They were facing life in prison, but are now looking at three decades behind bars.
The Bicketts, along with Annie Rael, murdered 65-year-old Marilyn Gandert inside her home in Taylor Ranch last year.
Police say it was because Gandert was in the process of evicting them for not paying their rent. Court records show there was an ongoing battle between Gandert and Alissa Bickett, her daughter-in-law. Gandert was also Drake’s grandmother.
“Together, Alissa Bickett, Drake Bickett, and Ms. Rael attacked Ms. Gandert together as accomplices and co-conspirators… they beat and stabbed her, tied her arms and legs and put a bag over her head,” said a state prosecutor.
Gandert’s body was eventually found on the mesa in Rio Rancho. Rael pleaded guilty for her role in the murder in April, and she was going to testify against the Bicketts.
Prosecutors were preparing to use that testimony against the Bicketts on first-degree murder charges, but Gandert’s family decided against going to trial, so they took the plea on second-degree murder charges instead.
Rael is currently awaiting sentencing. Alissa Bickett faces up to 36 years in prison when she is sentenced in July. Drake faces up to 30 years.
