New Mexico – A 19‑year‑old New Mexico man was arrested early Monday morning and now faces multiple charges in connection with the fatal shooting of his parent and his parent’s spouse inside their home. The defendant, D. Munos was taken into custody along with 18‑year‑old JuIio on charges that include two counts of first‑degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, court records show. The older man also faces an additional charge of criminal soIicitation to commit murder, while JuIio faces two counts of first‑degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder related to the deaths of 58‑year‑old Oskar and 71‑year‑old Dinna. Both men (SEE PHOTO) were booked into the county adult detention center and are being held without bond as the investigation continues.
New Mexico authorities were dispatched just before 5 a.m. on Dec. 15 to the home after receiving a 911 call reporting someone inside the residence. When officers arrived, they found the garage door open and made contact with the 19-year-old man, who told them his dad and his dad’s wife were inside and that everything had been fine. Officers entered the home and discovered the woman deceased in her bed with apparent head wounds. The defendant’s parent was found with a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to the regional medical center before being transferred to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
During an initial interview with New Mexico authorities, the defendant claimed he had spent the weekend alone and went to bed after his dad and his dad’s spouse returned from a trip. He told officers he heard the garage door alarm but did not hear gunshots, a statement that raised suspicion among detectives because of the proximity of the parents’ bedroom to where he said he had been sleeping. Officers also noted that there were no signs of forced entry and nothing appeared to have been taken from the home, leading investigators to question the burglary claim.
Detectives obtained a search warrant and reviewed surveillance video from the night before the shooting, which reportedly showed him carrying a firearm as he arrived at the residence. Court documents revealed that both defendants had allegedly pIanned the murders for weeks or months beforehand. The plan, according to the arrest affidavit, involved staging the incident as a burglary so that JuIio would enter through the garage and shoot the defendant’s parents while they slept.
A friend of the 19-year-old man told police that he and JuIio had discussed killing the couple so that he could take over his parents’ beIongings and finances once they were kiIIed. The friend said the 19-year-old man wanted his father’s money and that JuIio had agreed to carry out the kiIIings in exchange for a share of the inheritance. The acquaintance also reported seeing the 19-year-old trade a rifIe for a handgun without a serial number, known as a ghost gun, which investigators allege was intended to be used in the homicides.
The younger defendant was later questioned by police and admitted that the 19-year-old had solicited him to commit the murders, according to court records. Police found the firearm in JuIio’s possession at the time of his arrest and he acknowledged it was the weapon used in the shooting. Text messages and other digital evidence seized from the defendant’s phone also supported investigators’ conclusions that there had been communication between the two men in the lead‑up to the fataI incident.
Featured Image – 58‑year‑old Oskar and 71‑year‑old Dinna | 18-year-old JuIio