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Fugitive sentenced to life for killing his wife near Alamogordo
Shaun LeFleur, seen in a booking photo, was convicted in May of murdering his wife, Nancy LeFleur, and tampering with evidence by burying her body in a makeshift grave near Alamogordo.
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An Arkansas man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife near a state park south of Alamogordo in 2024.
Shaun LeFleur, 57, was convicted by an Otero County jury of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, for burying her body, on May 23.
New Mexico State Police were approached by an unidentified witness on April 21, 2024, who said he found LeFleur digging a shallow grave for his wife, Nancy, 67. According to court filings, the couple had been camping unlawfully near Oliver Lee State Park.
Police came across the grave site and found Nancy LeFleur’s body wrapped in a tarp. The witness said Shaun LeFleur had confessed to shooting his wife execution-style after an argument, ordering her onto her knees before firing on her. An autopsy determined she died of three gunshot wounds to the head from a .22 caliber handgun.
LeFleur was later traced to the Cloudcroft area and taken into custody on charges of first-degree murder and felony tampering with evidence.
In seeking LaFleur’s detention ahead of trial, prosecutors presented evidence that LaFleur had a criminal history in 11 states and active arrest warrants in four, including New Mexico.
District Attorney Ryan Suggs’ office described LeFleur as a Louisiana man in a news release, but his driver’s license at the time of his arrest was from Arkansas. The LeFleurs arrived in Otero County late in 2023, according to the DA’s office, describing Shaun LeFleur as a fugitive from justice dragging his wife along.
LeFleur was convicted in Otero County Magistrate Court in September 2024 of battering Nancy LeFleur over a 2023 incident. That conviction came after his wife had been dead for five months.
The jury in the murder case convicted LeFleur following a four-day trial, per court records. Prosecutors dropped a third count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
State District Judge John P. Sugg followed the verdict with a sentence requiring LeFleur to serve his life sentence after serving the maximum sentence for the tampering charge, meaning he would be nearly 90 years old, at the earliest, before becoming eligible for parole.
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According to the DA, Sugg remarked in court, “I don’t think you will live that long, you will die in the New Mexico Department of Corrections.”
