Student Killed in Teacher's Love Triangle

Ex-pupil boyfriend held in murder of Ariz. woman's teen lover
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 15, 2009 7:44 AM CDT
Student Killed in Teacher's Love Triangle
This undated booking photo provided by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office shows murder suspect Sixto Balbuena, 20.   ( AP Photo/Maricopa County Sheriff's Office )

An 18-year-old Arizona high school student caught with his 48-year-old math teacher in her bedroom was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, who is himself a former student of hers, police said yesterday. Sixto Balbuena, 20, a Navy sailor on leave, was arrested on a murder charge after police found him covered in blood.

Police said Balbuena told them he stabbed Samuel Valdivia with a kitchen knife because he "wanted to teach the victim a lesson." The teacher, Tamara Hofmann, is being investigated for potential misconduct relative to her involvement with Valdivia, police said. Records show Hofmann was suspected of having a sexual relationship with a then-17-year-old Balbuena in 2006 but police closed the case after they both denied it.
(More murder stories.)

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