Ellen Snyder was released from prison around 2019 after serving roughly eight years of an 11-year sentence for the 2002 shooting death of her husband, Michael Snyder, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She pleaded guilty in May 2011 to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm, tampering with evidence, and tax fraud, and was sentenced that July. According to the Disability Day of Mourning memorial, which lists Michael Snyder among disabled people killed by caregivers, Ellen served about eight years before her release.1Disability Memorial. Michael Snyder The specific terms of that release, including whether it came through parole or good-time credits, have not been widely reported.
Why She Served 11 Years and Not Life
The eight-year gap between the killing and its discovery drove the outcome. Under New Mexico law at the time, both second-degree murder and manslaughter carried a six-year statute of limitations, which had already run by the time investigators found Michael Snyder’s body in 2010. Only first-degree murder had no time limit. Prosecutors considered that charge but concluded they could not prove premeditation, especially against a defense psychologist’s assessment of Ellen as a battered woman.2Police1. Retired NM Deputy Looks to Change Law Helping Killers
Ellen agreed to waive the expired statute of limitations and plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm, along with the tampering and tax fraud counts.3KOAT. Ellen Snyder Gets 11 Years for Husband’s Slaying Had the state secured a first-degree murder conviction, she could have faced life in prison.
The Killing and the Eight-Year Concealment
On the morning of January 11, 2002, Ellen shot Michael Snyder multiple times inside their home on Anaheim Avenue, emptying all eight rounds from a pistol as he tried to run. He was unarmed.1Disability Memorial. Michael Snyder Michael had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the previous summer and was on disability. Ellen told investigators the shooting followed an argument in which she feared for her life; her attorney later described a pattern of domestic abuse that intensified after the diagnosis.4KOAT. Attorney Reveals Ellen Snyder’s Story
Ellen’s 17-year-old son, Michael Sheffield, helped wrap the body in plastic garbage bags and move it to the garage.5KOAT. Ex-Wife Charged in Snyder Death Days later, Ellen hired a heavy-equipment operator, who did not know what he was digging, to open a hole on the property. The body was buried beneath the garage floor.2Police1. Retired NM Deputy Looks to Change Law Helping Killers
For eight years, Ellen told family, police, and investigators that Michael had abandoned them and moved to Phoenix. She produced a Western Union transfer and a U-Haul receipt to support the story, and filed state tax returns in Michael’s name in 2004 and 2005.6KOAT. Confessed Killer Ellen Snyder Speaks in Jailhouse Interview A missing person report was filed in May 2002.7KOAT. Snyder Case Ends in Cold Trail
How the Case Broke
A cold case detective reclassified the disappearance as a possible homicide around 2005, and a 2006 search of the property with cadaver dogs recovered a pistol and bullets but no body.7KOAT. Snyder Case Ends in Cold Trail The case finally broke when Michael Sheffield began confiding in friends. A former employee of Ellen’s went to the police, who arranged for the friend to speak with Sheffield while wearing a wire. Sheffield then confessed to authorities.4KOAT. Attorney Reveals Ellen Snyder’s Story
On February 1, 2010, police received a tip pointing to a specific corner of the garage. On February 4, investigators recovered Michael Snyder’s remains, wrapped in a tarp, six feet down.5KOAT. Ex-Wife Charged in Snyder Death By then, Ellen no longer owned the home; the new owners were Albuquerque police officers.6KOAT. Confessed Killer Ellen Snyder Speaks in Jailhouse Interview Sheffield was not charged.
Sentencing and Time Served
On July 19, 2011, District Judge Kenneth Martinez sentenced Ellen Snyder to 11 years in prison, the maximum allowed under her plea agreement.3KOAT. Ellen Snyder Gets 11 Years for Husband’s Slaying Before sentencing, she had asked for a $100,000 bond and offered to wear an ankle monitor so she could spend six weeks with her daughter. The judge denied the request, citing the dynamics and nature of the crime.8KOAT. Snyder Denied Release Before Sentencing
Taking the Disability Day of Mourning memorial’s figure of eight years served against her July 2011 sentencing date, her release would have come around 2019.1Disability Memorial. Michael Snyder Public reporting has not detailed the mechanism of that release.
The Law the Case Helped Change
The Snyder prosecution exposed a gap in New Mexico law: someone who successfully hid a killing for six years could run out the clock on every homicide charge short of first-degree murder. State Representative Bill Rehm, a retired sheriff’s deputy, cited the case as his primary motivation for House Bill 31, which sought to eliminate the statute of limitations for second-degree murder.2Police1. Retired NM Deputy Looks to Change Law Helping Killers Lawmakers also introduced House Bill 115, aimed at removing that same time limit, and House Bill 112, which would increase penalties for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.9Santa Fe New Mexican. An Upset Special Cooperation on a Crime Bill