Authorities are on the hunt for an Indiana man accused of orchestrating the murder of his girlfriend’s former partner three years ago.
Cordero Cervantes, 35, and McKayla Archambeau, 25, were apprehended in July 2022 in connection to the death of Taylor Hawkins, who was 31 at the time of his murder the previous month, according to a report by CrimeOnline.
Initially, Cervantes faced charges of tampering with evidence and tampering with a motor vehicle. He entered a guilty plea and was subsequently placed on probation. However, recent developments have led to a second-degree murder charge against him.
Archambeau originally faced charges including second-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle, and tampering with physical evidence. She pleaded guilty to these charges in August and is set to be sentenced next week, as reported by KCTV.
Archambeau’s recent statements have provided new evidence against Cervantes. She informed investigators that a week before the incident, she had been intimate with Hawkins, which allegedly enraged Cervantes, leading him to compel her to commit the murder.
According to her account, the initial plan involved leaving her firearm with Cervantes, who would then persuade Hawkins to use it against himself. However, when she failed to leave the gun, Cervantes became furious.
According to the probable cause statement, Archambeau, who made the statements after her guilty plea, said that Cervantes looked at her with “such rage in his eyes” that she thought “he wanted me to be the one to kill Taylor because I was the one that had slept with him and I didn’t leave the gun behind.”
She said she shot Hawkins, who began to run, and Cervantes ordered her to “finish him,” so she shot him again, this time in the back.
Another witness, who had been at the scene when Hawkins was shot but did not see the incident, told investigators that Hawkins had been paranoid Cervantes would retaliate against him because he’d slept with Archambeau.
A warrant has been issued for Cervantes’ arrest. Anyone with information should report it to the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
