Email
After first concocting a story that his family had died in a car crash, Nehemiah Griego, 15, told Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies that he shot his parents and three younger siblings in the head, according to a statement of probable cause obtained by the Journal.
His second story matched the grisly scene deputies had encountered when they arrived at the Griegos’ home on the 2800 block of Long Lane SW, the statement says.
The probable cause statement also reveals a few other new details of the quintuple homicide, for which Greigo has been charged with five open counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death. They include:
Griego texted a picture of his dead mother to his girlfriend.
It was the girlfriend who convinced Griego to meet her at Calvary Chapel after the killings. He had initially to carry out more carnage at a public place.
At the megachurch near the intersection of Jefferson and Osuna NE, Griego told his girlfriend that his family had been killed in a car crash. The girlfriend’s grandmother began asking questions. Griego was then called into the office of one of the church’s pastors.
A church staff member called the church’s security guard, who called 911. When deputies arrived, they found five bodies inside the Griegos’ South Valley home.
The 15-year-old accused of killing his parents, younger brother and two younger sisters Saturday has not had any prior involvement with the juvenile justice system, according to a spokesman for the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
Nehemiah Griego, 15, is now at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center and charged with two open counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death. He is accused of killing his father, Greg Griego, a pastor; mother, Sarah Griego, a stay-at-home mom who home schooled their children; Zephania Griego, 9; Jael Griego, 5; and Angelina Griego, 2.
The CYFD spokesman also said the department cannot release confidential records regarding reports of abuse or neglect to a particular home.
Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston is scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday at 10 a.m. District Attorney Kari Brandenburg also plans to hold a press conference Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman.
Read more of the Journal’s coverage of this story here and here.
-- Email the reporter at dziff@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3828
