Family of 5 killed in fiery wreck worry as suspect seeks mental health plea | News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – The family of five people who died in a fiery crash southwest of Tucson is speaking out about the accused suspect changing her plea.

The crash occurred on Oct. 21, 2024. Malyn Christine Pavolka was arrested a couple of days afterward. On Nov. 12, 2024, she entered a “not guilty” plea.

On Dec. 4, 2024, Pavolka’s lawyer filed a motion for a competency examination. On February 3 of 2025, a judge ruled that Pavolka was competent to stand trial as long as she continued to take medication. Then, on Feb. 13, 2025, Pavolka’s lawyer filed a motion for an examination of her mental status at the time of the crash.

News 4 Tucson’s Jafet Serrato has been digging through court documents and spoke with the victims’ family. 

A judge did grant the mental status examination on Feb. 24.

That evaluation is now complete and the victims’ family is telling News 4 Tucson that based on that evaluation a judge may decide next week to let the suspect go free.

Carmen Martinez, a relative of the victims, said, “They want a guilty except insane a GEI. And if that is accepted, what our district attorney told us is she (Pavolka) will be sent to a mental institution in four and a half months. (If) they see she’s ok she’s going to be sent home.”

A GEI is a legal concept where a defendant admits to committing the crime but argues they were not mentally competent at the time of the offense due to a mental disease or defect.

Martinez is referring to a conversation she had with Pima County Attorney Laura Conover regarding Pavolka changing her plea in connection to the deadly 2024 crash on Ajo Way and San Joaquin Road.

Authorities at the time said Pavolka was driving her sedan impaired, ran a red light, and slammed into an SUV. The SUV later caught on fire, killing all five people on board, the relatives of Martinez and Jose Melendez.

The five victims were identified as:

• Jose Froilan Ledesma, 73
• Maria De Jesus Melendez, 95 
• Maria Elena Ledesma, 71 
• Susana Mosqueda, 66
• Antonio Melendez, 73

“We were a loving family. We were always together,” Martinez said.

Melendez added, “You go to bed thinking about them. You wake up in the morning thinking about them.”

In February 2025, the suspect’s lawyer filed a motion to examine her client’s mental status at the time of the crash, claiming that Pavolka has suffered from bipolar disorder for many years.

“She decided not to take her medicine because she felt like she didn’t need the medicine,” Melendez said, highlighting an interim complaint from the Arizona Department of Public Safety regarding what Pavolka told police on Oct. 21.

According to a document filed by the defense attorney called “Motion for Rule 118 Examination for Mental Status at Time of Offense,” while at Pima County Jail on Oct. 24, a corrections officer saw Pavolka throwing water and playing with her feces while being naked.

The judge granted this mental status examination, which has been completed but not made public. However, the victims’ family said the Pima County District Attorney’s Office told them a full prosecution would not be possible.

“That even if we go to trial the jurors are going to declare her GEI,” Martinez said, expressing anger.

“We feel like our district attorney is not fighting for us,” Martinez added.

The Pima County Attorney’s Office sent News 4 Tucson a statement saying, “We understand that the family has endured unimaginable pain through this tragic loss. PCAO has been and will always be committed to seeking justice and accountability for victims and their loved ones. While we can’t comment directly on the facts of the case, we can say, in general, that there are legal constraints that can impact the handling and prosecution of Guilty Except Insane (GEI) cases. We are obligated to follow the law, as established by the State Legislature for GEI cases, and our seasoned prosecutors will do everything they can to give victims a voice, protect their rights, and help prevent future harm in our community within the confines of our legal and ethical obligations.”

News 4 Tucson also reached out to the suspect’s attorney but has not heard back.

A judge may decide on July 28, 2025, to accept the GEI plea.