Posted by Amarachi on Tue 17th Dec, 2024 - tori.ng
The teen allegedly told a dispatcher over the phone that he killed his family, then walked out with his hands in the air when deputies reached his home in the city of Belen.
The New Mexico police arrested a 16-year-old boy on Saturday morning, Dec. 14, after he allegedly shot his parents and teenage siblings and then drunkenly called 911 to confess to the quadruple homicide.
Diego Leyva is facing first-degree murder charges in the horrific slaughter that happened around 3:30 a.m. before the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call from the murder suspect, New Mexico State Police said in a news release.
The teen allegedly told a dispatcher over the phone that he killed his family, then walked out with his hands in the air when deputies reached his home in the city of Belen, authorities said.
State police said Leyva was “extremely intoxicated” but was taken into custody without incident.
A handgun was found on the kitchen table, according to police.
The suspect’s 42-year-old father, Leonardo Leyva, 35-year-old mother, Adriana Bencomo, 16-year-old sister, Adrian Leyva, and 14-year-old brother, Alexander Leyva, were all found de@d with gunshot wounds inside the home, according to law enforcement and KRQE.
The alleged k!ller was taken to a nearby hospital for detox and then booked into a juvenile justice center in Albuquerque early Sunday, Dec. 15, officials said.
A former teacher was in disbelief that the teen boy could be responsible for the ruthless slayings.
“I would never have thought that something like this would happen and that Diego would be capable of doing something like this,” educator Vanessa LaGrange told the Guardian. “Everyone’s in shock.”
The state police investigative bureau is still trying to determine what sparked the murderous rampage.