RIO RANCHO — A Rio Rancho woman accused of killing her wife with a shotgun during a fight outside their home pleaded guilty to a lesser charge this week.
Darlene Valencia-Dean, 46, of Rio Rancho, was arrested Dec. 30, 2024, for the first-degree murder of her 44-year-old wife Adelita Valencia-Dean and counts of police and health care worker battery in the 2300 block of Animas Court.
On Feb. 12, Valencia-Dean pleaded down to second-degree murder but kept the battery charges…