George Grattan, 28, of Deming was bound over for trial in the death of his wife, 29-year-old Suzanne Grattan, an award-winning  high school journalism and English teacher, the Deming Headlight reported.

Ten witnesses testified at a preliminary hearing Friday after which George Grattan was bound over for trial on an open count of murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence, the Headlight reported.

Defense attorney Mark Earnest argued that the state's case was circumstantial and speculative, but Magistrate Court Judge Ray Baese disagreed, the paper said.

Suzanne Grattan's body was found March 19 inside a black duffel bag in an old well within sight of the Luna County Detention Center, where George Grattan is being held on a $110,000 cash-only bond, the Headlight reported.

The husband was arrested on March 21 following an extensive investigation by Deming police and State Police, the paper said. 

6:30am 3/24/08 -- Deming Teacher Was Strangled: Accused husband tells police of an argument but denies killing wife.

An autopsy has revealed that Suzanne Grattan, 29, a third-year English and journalism teacher at Deming High School whose body was found in a remote area last Wednesday, was strangled, according to the Deming Headlight.

The autopsy also found small injuries to the front and back of her skull, but no time of death was listed, and police are still not sure where she was killed, the Headlight reported.

Her husband, 28-year-old George Grattan, who was taken into custody last week on unrelated charges of passing two bad checks in June, was considered a person of interest in the case until he was formally charged late Friday with murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence, the Headlight said.

According to a probable cause statement, George Grattan told police he and his wife had "a verbal dispute over family, jobs, money and her health" on Monday, but he denied any involvement in her disappearance and death, the paper reported.

Grattan's body was recovered Wednesday north of Deming from a pit or hole on property owned by the Grattan family, according to police.

The body was inside a duffel bag that was secured with duct tape, and two rolls of duct tape consistent with that found on the duffel bag was found in the Grattans' home, the Headlight reported.

Deming Police detective Lt. Matt Rudiger said in the probable cause statement that a portion of sheetrock found in the Grattans' home was found to have an indentation about 5 feet 4 inchs from the floor with three small hairs embedded in the indentation, the Headlight said.

Rudiger also said Grattan's body contained a small amount of white paint matching the color of patchwork found in the home, the paper reported.

Grattan's 3-year-old son is being cared for by her parents, the Headlight said.

According to an article in the Albuquerque Journal on Friday, a next-door neighbor said she and her sister were leaving their home early Tuesday when George Grattan approached them and asked if they had seen his wife.

"He said they got into a fight (Monday night), and she had gone to her car, and he went to sleep," Yadira Porter said. "We told him no." 

5:00am 3/20/08 -- Deming Teacher Found Dead: Police say husband of award-winning English teacher a "person of interest."

The body of 29-year-old Deming High School English teacher Suzanne Grattan was found Wednesday afternoon in an area north of the city, and Grattan's husband George, 28, is considered a "person of interest," police told the Deming Headlight.

Grattan, a 1997 graduate of Deming High School and a 2003 graduate of New Mexico State University with a double major in English and journalism, was the Wal-Mart Foundation's 2006-07 Teacher of the Year at Deming High, the Headlight reported.

She was reported missing Tuesday morning by Deming High School personnel when she failed to appear to teach classes, the Headlight said.

Investigators searched for Grattan throughout the day on Tuesday until they received information late Tuesday about a possible location, and detectives decided to secure the location until Wednesday morning, the paper reported.

Deming police detectives, Luna County sheriff's investigators and the state Office of the Medical Investigator located her body at about 2:35 p.m. Wednesday at a location north of Deming, Police Chief Michael Carillo told the Headlight.

The body has been released to the OMI to determine the cause of death, which is being treated as a homicide, the paper reported.

Grattan's husband, who told police he'd had no contact with his wife since Monday evening, is considered a person of interest, the Headlight said.

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