ALAMOSA — A preliminary hearing was held on Monday, Aug. 29, for two defendants charged in connection with the murder of Cheyenne Goins, resulting in the case being bound over by Alamosa County Judge Daniel Walzl to district court where, at this point, the case is on track to go to trial.

At the time of her death, Goins was 21 years old and, as stated in an investigator’s report, the mother of a “toddler son.”

According to court documents obtained from the Alamosa County Clerk of the Court, Elisa Salas, 29, and Sasha Chacon, 32, were charged with suspicions of tampering with a deceased human body (class-3 felony), tampering with physical evidence (class-6 felony), abuse of a corpse (class six felony) and accessory to a crime (class-4 felony).

Previous charges of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery were dismissed by the office of the district attorney.

The preliminary hearings for both defendants were set for 10 a.m. on Monday morning with evidence presented first in the case of Salas, which was initially investigated by the Alamosa Police Department. Once it was determined that the crime took place within county jurisdiction, Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

According to court documents, six separate victim statements were presented to the court during the preliminary hearing, including a letter from Goins’ mother and a letter from her grandmother, who, along with Cheyenne’s grandfather, is the primary caretaker for Goins’ son.

Chacon waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

At the conclusion of the preliminary, Walzl ruled there was sufficient evidence to proceed and bound all four counts over to district court.

Bond was subsequently set for Salas at $100,000 while bond for Chacon was set at $75,000. Both women were prohibited from contact with the victim’s family.

The defendants were scheduled for their first appearance in district court on Sept. 20.

According to the probable-cause document, also obtained from the Alamosa County Clerk’s office, Goins was last seen in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2021, at Bank Shots Bar, located on Eighth Street in Alamosa.  

On Aug. 12, 2021, she was reported missing to the Alamosa Police Department (APD) by her grandparents, Jonathan and Mary Sandoval. The Sandovals told APD that it was the longest period they had gone without contact from their granddaughter. 

An intensive search was immediately initiated along with investigators interviewing those who might have knowledge of Goins’ whereabouts.

Goins’ body was discovered on Aug. 25 in a hidden grave near Mount Blanca. The El Paso County Coroner ruled her death a homicide as a result of multiple stab wounds, excessive loss of blood and a collapsed lung.