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Teenage boy accused of killing four family members at home southeast of Belen
Authorities investigate a quadruple homicide Saturday afternoon at a home on the outskirts of Belen.
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New Mexico State Police say a 16-year-old boy fatally shot four family members at their home in Valencia County early Saturday morning.
Diego Leyva was charged with four open counts of murder, said officer Ray Wilson, a State Police spokesman.
Wilson said Leyva, who was extremely intoxicated, was taken to a hospital “for detox” and will be booked into a juvenile detention center after his release.
He said the Office of the Medical Investigator “is still working to identify the victims.”
Leyva called 911 around 3:30 a.m. and told a dispatcher that “he had killed his family” at a home on Camino Escondido, in a rural area southeast of Rio Communities, Wilson said. When Valencia County deputies arrived, Leyva walked out of the home “with his hands in the air and was extremely intoxicated.”
Deputies found four people dead inside the home and a handgun on the kitchen table, he said. The Valencia County Sheriff’s Office handed the case over to the State Police for investigation.
“This incident is in the preliminary stages of investigation. New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents and Crime Scene Team are processing the scene and conducting interviews to learn what led up to these tragic events,” Wilson said. “Once more information is learned and the investigation is complete, it will be presented to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.”
Police vehicles could be seen parked outside the home, which sat in a rural and undeveloped area. Crime scene tape stretched across the road as officers investigated the killings.
A wreath was tied snug to the white wrought iron fence, the top of which was strung with colorful Christmas lights. Through the gate, a small Santa figure could be seen standing beside the front door, a few feet away from a lit-up tree.
