One of the two defendants in a 2022 Farley-area murder case has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
Archambeau
McKayla Archambeau pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August and was sentenced last month. She received 22 years for the murder charge, three years for armed criminal action, seven years for tampering wit h a motor vehicle and four years for tampering with evidence.
Her co-defendant, Cordero Cervantes, was charged with second degree murder in early November. He remains at large.
According to court documents, on June 28, 2022, Platte County deputies responded to a report of a shooting at a residence near 28000 Oberdiek Lane. A witness told deputies that Cervantes, Archambeau, and Hawkins went behind a barn on the property. Moments later, the witness heard a gunshot, followed by Hawkins shouting, “No! Why’d you do it?”
The witness then reported seeing Cervantes emerge from behind the barn allegedly “with a smirk on his face.” Court documents allege that Cervantes had encouraged Archambeau to shoot Hawkins after repeated arguments about her prior relationship with Hawkins.
Following the shooting, Cervantes and Archambeau allegedly fled Missouri in a 2012 Ford Focus, which was later recovered when both were arrested in Carlisle, Ark. Investigators believe the pair traveled across several states before being apprehended.
In a later interview, court documents state that Archambeau admitted to detectives that Cervantes pressured her to shoot Hawkins, allegedly telling her “he needs to go” and ordering her to “finish him” after the first shot. She stated that Cervantes rummaged through the victim’s pockets while he lay dying.