Trial opens in 2018 beating death of Albuquerque couple in their home

Investigators rushed to the conclusion that Richard Alan Ross bludgeoned an Albuquerque couple to death in 2018, in part because he met the husband in jail and later moved into their home, Ross’ attorney told jurors Tuesday on the first day of his trial.

Ross, 44, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and other charges in the beating deaths of John and Debra Embry, both 67, who were found bound by their hands and feet in their home in the 6200 block of Sweetwater NW, near Montaño and Unser.

His attorney, Edward Bustamante, told jurors in opening statements that Ross did not kill the couple and that prosecutors have no DNA or fingerprint evidence showing Ross’ guilt.

John and Debra Embry had an “alternative lifestyle” or “open marriage” that brought other people into their home who might have killed the couple, Bustamante told jurors.

“They both, as adults, decided it was fine to invite other people into their home for sexual activity,” Bustamante said of the Embrys. Investigators ignored the possibility that former sex partners may have killed the couple, he said.

But prosecutors said Ross’ behavior changed beginning the day the Embrys were killed on Dec. 2, 2018.

“You’re going to see footage of Mr. Ross with the Embrys’ vehicle shopping at a few places with no sign of John or Debra (Embry),” Assistant District Attorney Jolanna Macias said in opening statements. “You’re going to hear from a cellphone geolocation expert as to how Richard Ross was tracked across Albuquerque that day, and eventually into Oklahoma, where he was apprehended.”

Ross “took their vehicle, stole their identification, used their credit cards,” Macias told jurors. Ross is also charged with vehicle theft, larceny and two counts each of tampering with evidence, identity theft, and unauthorized use of debit cards.

The trial is scheduled to continue through Oct. 13 before 2nd Judicial District Judge Britt Baca-Miller.

Ross and John Embry met in October at the Metropolitan Detention Center while both were in jail for probation violations. Embry invited Ross, an Oklahoma resident, to live at the couple’s home after Ross was released from jail on Nov. 14, 2018.

Ross spent some time performing repairs at the home, attorneys for both the prosecution and defense said.

“And it’s absolutely clear that John Embry invited Mr. Ross into his home,” Bustamante said. “These two were hanging out together. They were going to various stores together. And in some ways they struck up a friendship.”

Prosecutors alleged John Embry, a retired psychologist, had beaten his wife while on probation for a prior domestic violence conviction, also for beating Debra Embry, court records show.

Ross had left New Mexico while on probation on charges connected to the 2011 death of James Sharpe. Sharpe was found June 6, 2011, beaten to death and wrapped in sheets in a Southeast Albuquerque motel room that Ross had rented.

Ross was tried for first-degree murder in 2013, but a 2nd Judicial District Court jury failed to reach a verdict and the charge was later dismissed. But jurors convicted Ross of tampering with evidence and theft of a vehicle and credit cards during the same trial. A judge revoked his probation in October 2018.

Probation and parole officials had been trying to reach John Embry for more than a week when police went to the Embrys’ home and discovered the bodies, witnesses testified.

Albuquerque police found the couple’s bodies on Dec. 7, five days after they were killed, prosecutors allege.

Police say the bodies were covered in blankets with their hands bound behind their backs and their feet bound, and that bloodstains were throughout the home, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

The Embrys’ SUV, bank cards, cellphones and a flat-screen television were missing, but police found Ross’s MDC paperwork in a downstairs bedroom, the complaint said.