Chandler Man Who Stabbed Rival at Home of Teacher Indicted for Second-Degree Murder

Sixto Balbuena, the 20-year-old Chandler man who stabbed his apparent rival at the home of their teacher, has been indicted for second-degree murder. That's no surprise. But what could be interesting is if the teacher, Tamara Hofmann, ends up with an indictment of her own. The Maricopa County Attorney's...

By Ray Stern

April 20, 2009

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Sixto Balbuena, the 20-year-old Chandler man who stabbed his apparent rival at the home of their teacher, has been indicted for second-degree murder.

That's no surprise. But what could be interesting is if the teacher, Tamara Hofmann, ends up with an indictment of her own.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which announced the April 17 indictment this morning, has not received a request for prosecution of Hofmann. Chandler police have not accused the woman -- the former teacher of the suspect and victim -- of a crime, but told New Times they were investigating the relationship between all three people.

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.