Murder suspect's attorney says "death penalty" mention made client confess.

A hearing on whether to suppress the confession of Joshua Barr in the killing of his one-time roommate Robert James Lustig is set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Luna County Courthouse, the Deming Headlight reported in its online edition.

Lustig's decomposed body was found last April wrapped in carpet, plastic and tape in an abandoned refrigerator some 15 miles south of Deming, the Headlight reported.

Lustig, who was a lieutenant in the Cooke's Peak Volunteer Fire Department, had been missing for several months. He was 34 at the time of his disappearance.

His remains were identified five days later through dental records, and Barr, then 20, was arrested about a week later after a second interrogation. He was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

It was during the second interrogation, held at the Luna County Sheriff's Office, that Barr confessed and told authorities where to find the alleged murder weapon, a .22-caliber handgun, the Headlight reported.

At a preliminary hearing last May, Barr's attorney Michael Rosenfield questioned whether investigators mentioning the death penalty during the second interrogation amounted to coercing a confession from Barr.

State District Judge Henry R. Quintero will hear the motion to suppress Barr's confession on Thursday.

Barr and Lustig had both served as members of the Columbus Auxiliary Police, and the two were roommates at one time, along with Mark Varkevisser, who was arrested last May and charged with tampering with evidence, for allegedly helping Barr move Lustig's body.

Varkevisser, who is free on a $10,000 cash bond, had moved to Ontario, Calif., between Lustig's disappearance and the discovery of his body.

Barr's bail was reduced in September from $1 million to $35,000, the Headlight reported.

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