Police ID homicide victim found near I-40
Larry Phillips, 35, was found on remote stretch of highway west of city
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s detectives have identified the man who was found dead west of the city near Interstate 40 Tuesday afternoon as 35-yearold Larry Phillips.
Phillips was found around 3:30 p.m. off the side of Lost Horizon NW, partially covered in brush, by a work crew in the area. The workers say they were running power lines along the side of the road when they stumbled upon his body.
They called 911 and deputies responded, quickly determining Phillips may have been killed.
Felicia Maggard, a BCSO spokeswoman, said the Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed his death was a homicide Wednesday.
But she would not say how he died. She wouldn’t say if detectives believe Phillips was killed where he was found.
“At this time the cause of death and the condition he was found in is not available for release,” Maggard said.
Lost Horizon leads north of Interstate 40 to the Federal Aviation Administration radar center, about half way between Albuquerque and Route 66 casino.
Residents of a small cluster of homes said they did not recognize Phillips or know what he or anyone else might have been doing out there.
Maggard described the area as a small community within BCSO’s jurisdiction.
“We don’t get very many calls there but that’s where this victim was located,” she said.
She said the sheriff and deputies send their condolences to Phillips’ family.
“Sheriff Gonzales takes any death in our community serious and our detectives are working diligently in this investigation,” she said.