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On Saturday, a 19-year-old Rio Rancho man told police he shot his dad in the head and stabbed him before using his ATM card to withdraw money to buy supplies to get rid of his body. Zane Skinner told investigators he intended to dismember his father, Michael Skinner.
He was charged with murder and tampering with evidence, and booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center.
Rio Rancho Police were dispatched to the 4200 block of North Pole Loop NE after receiving a call from Zane Skinner saying his father was dead inside their home, according to the criminal complaint. He initially said he was not responsible for his father's death.
Zane Skinner told police he found his father's body with “two bullet holes to his cranium” approximately 24 hours before calling authorities, and that he waited because he didn't know what to do with the corpse, the complaint states.
Officers found Michael Skinner dead from an apparent gunshot wound. He was naked in the master bathroom bathtub.
However, when detectives interviewed Zane Skinner, he admitted to having killed his father, according to the criminal complaint.
He told police he got up at around 5 a.m. Friday, retrieved a .45 caliber handgun from the garage and went to wake up his father. He said he asked his father “if he abused animals” and threatened to shoot him.
Zane Skinner said he shot his father in the head and then dragged his body to the bathroom where he stabbed him at least three times in the abdomen and twice under the jaw, according to the complaint.
He also said he wanted to dispose of the body through dismemberment. He said he took his father's wallet and drove to an ATM with the intention of withdrawing money to buy supplies for the body's disposal.
Zane Skinner was arrested previously on Nov. 15, according to online court records. Police were called to the house of one of his neighbors after he tried to open the front door and would not leave the property. He was charged with criminal trespass, assault upon a peace officer, and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. He was ordered to appear for a pretrial conference scheduled for Jan. 10, 2023.
