Murder suspect faces 18 charges
SANTA FE — A man who is accused of torturing and beating a teen boy to death in November could spend the rest of his life in prison if he’s convicted on a slew of charges related to the killing.
In state District Court on Thursday, Thomas Ferguson, 42, pleaded not guilty to an 18-count indictment that charges him with firstdegree murder, kidnapping, child abuse, conspiracy and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
He faces life plus 168 years in prison, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett said in court.
According to court documents filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Ferguson beat
his girlfriend’s son, 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia, in late November and left the boy to die in a dog kennel. Ferguson then forced his son, Jordan Nunez, 19, and Jeremiah’s mother, Tracy Ann Pena, 35, to stuff Jeremiah’s body in a plastic storage container and bury it just off N.M. 503 near Nambé.
Deputies began an investigation Jan. 25 after an inmate at the Santa Fe County jail said Pena, who was in the lockup on a probation violation, had told her that Ferguson had possibly killed her son in November while Pena was in jail on another case. Detectives dug up the body, which the Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed was Jeremiah’s through dental records.
Nunez told detectives that Ferguson would torture Jeremiah with a 5-pound hammer, brass knuckles, a homemade spear and steel-toed boots. Ferguson would also force the boy to stay in a dog kennel and wear a diaper and would urinate on Jeremiah, court documents say.
Recent court filings say an autopsy report indicates that Jeremiah had injuries consistent with sexual assault and that he may have also been burned. So far, Ferguson has not been charged with sexual assault. Nunez and Pena face charges in Santa Fe Magistrate Court, but their cases are expected to be heard by a grand jury next week so they can be transferred via indictment to the higher District Court.