Ignacio Murder Case: Protection Order Violations Precede Wife's Death

Blas Salazar is now charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Herberta Lynn Salazar.

Law enforcement in southern Colorado alleges the 59-year-old man repeatedly broke a mandatory protection order while in custody. Herberta Salazar was 31 when she died. Her body was discovered in their home in Ignacio, a town located about 25 miles southeast of Durango on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.

The investigation began in late August when Herberta Salazar reported that her husband had beaten and raped her. An arrest affidavit states that Blas Salazar arrived home intoxicated and punched her in the head several times. She attempted to call 911 using the voice assistant on her phone, but the function failed. Salazar then hid her phone and forced her to have intercourse while she told him no, according to police records.

Police arrested Blas Salazar on September 1. He was booked into the La Plata County jail and signed a protection order that prohibited contact with his wife. Deputies claim he violated this order dozens of times during his stay. From his arrest until September 17, he used the jail video visit system to contact his wife 26 times. The couple also exchanged 33 pages of text messages during that period.

In one specific incident, Salazar tried to call his wife from jail. When she did not answer, he called a different woman and asked her to tell Herberta Salazar to answer her phone. He later told the second woman that he had spoken to his wife, an affidavit notes. Salazar posted bail through a surety on September 29. A mandatory protection order remained in effect at the time of his release.

Weeks later, while floods affected the region, La Plata County sheriff’s deputies responded to a welfare check on Saturday. They found Herberta Salazar dead in the home. A third arrest affidavit describes a large cut across her neck and a puncture wound in her chest. Circuit breakers in the house had been manually switched off, disabling the security camera system. A Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent wrote that this act appeared consistent with an attempt to destroy evidence.

That same night, Salazar texted a family member a photo of himself showing what appeared to be life-threatening injuries. Deputies tracked his truck and found him early Sunday. While waiting for paramedics, he told police he had stabbed and cut his wife. He also stated that she had cut herself twice and that he had cut his own arm and body. Ignacio Police Chief Wes Crume did not read Salazar his Miranda rights before questioning him, a CBI agent noted in the affidavit.

Salazar is currently held without bail at the Jefferson County jail following medical treatment in Denver. Court records indicate he faces charges for second-degree burglary, sexual assault, third-degree assault, and multiple protection order violations. He is scheduled to appear for a disposition hearing in the sexual assault case on December 17.