Arrest made in connection with Clovis homicide

Staff report

Ariel Ulibarri did not know her alleged killer, her sister said Tuesday.

Police say Matthew P. Jennings, 25, of Clovis on Tuesday confessed to the Nov. 9 slaying of Ulibarri at the Goodwin Lake walking trail.

Jennings was being held on charges not related to the stabbing death early Tuesday evening, but officials said they planned to charge him with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

Leanna Montano, Ulibarri’s sister, said her family does not know Jennings and that police told the family Jennings confessed to “having a bad day” before killing the woman he did not know.

“Mr. Jennings acknowledged his participation in the homicide of Ms. Ariel Ulibarri as the stabber and gave a confession as to her murder,” according to a police press release.

Ulibarri was walking at Goodwin Lake walking trails with her 6-year-old son Diego when she was attacked. The child was not injured.

Police said Tuesday they tied Jennings to the crime “based upon a unique male DNA profile match identified from the state crime lab from the murder weapon located at the scene.”

The press release said Jennings was in the Curry County Adult Detention Center on unrelated charges when they learned about the evidence from the crime lab. He confessed to the killing after being questioned by investigators on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Court records show Jennings had been in the CCADC since Nov. 21 on probation violation charges unrelated to the Ulibarri homicide.

Booking records on the jail web site identify Jennings as a Clovis-born, male “drop out.”

While police have provided little information about the case, Montano said her family found a bloody knife near the trail where Ulibarri died. They found it hours after crime scene tape had been removed from the area, Montano said.

“It was stabbed in the ground with blood drenched on it, still,” Montano said.

Montano said Tuesday police said the knife the family found was determined to be the murder weapon and that it had DNA from both Ulibarri and Jennings.

Investigators have said Ulibarri was stabbed to death with a knife and evidence was recovered at the scene.

On Tuesday they said the investigation is continuing as “the investigators work to establish a motive for the murder.”

Montano said her family is relieved an arrest has been made.

“It’s not going to bring Ariel back,” she said, but at least family members will no longer be afraid Ulibarri’s killer is stalking them.

“I was afraid somebody was going to follow me to my job and try to hurt me. It was the same with my mom. She was worried someone was going to try to take Diego,” she said.

Ten days after the homicide, Clovis police identified two persons of interest in the investigation. Neither was identified by police as a suspect or charged. They maintained throughout the investigation they had no suspects until Tuesday’s announcement.

Ulibarri, 23, was found dead about 7:30 on the morning of Nov. 9 at the walking trails off of North Prince Street.

Police were called after witnesses said they heard loud screaming and found a woman dead east of the main entrance to the trail.

Ulibarri’s mother, Anna Montano, wrote a letter about her daughter soon after the homicide.

“Ariel was beautiful in so many ways,” she wrote. “Other than that pretty face, she was one of the best mothers I've known. Her kids were her reason for living…”