Love triangle ends in two deaths
Murder-suicide result of conflict between rivals
New Mexico State Police say a Balloon Fiesta love triangle turned deadly earlier this month when a man killed his estranged wife’s new boyfriend — before turning the gun on himself — at a Bernalillo trailer park.
NMSP Lt. Elizabeth Armijo said Fernand “Fred” Lete, 70, killed Michael LaPlante, 55, on Sept. 3 and then himself, following a short standoff with Bernalillo police at a mobile home park.
At one point, a BPD officer fired shots at an armed Lete, but Armijo said autopsies later showed neither Lete nor LaPlante were hit by the officer’s gunfire and police determined the deaths were a murder-suicide.
Police say LaPlante, a launch director with Balloon Fiesta, was dating the estranged wife of Lete, a longtime balloon pilot.
Armijo said that is what possibly drove Lete to shoot LaPlante, around 6:30 p.m., in LaPlante’s trailer at KOA Campground on 555 South Hill Road, near U.S. 550 and Interstate 25.
She said Lete then called his wife to
tell her what he had done.
“The wife heard LaPlante yelling in the background that he had been shot by Lete,” Armijo said. “She then overheard several more gunshots and the phone line was disconnected. The wife then called 911, prompting the officers’ response.”
She said when Bernalillo police showed up, Lete opened the door armed with a revolver.
Armijo said BPD officer Thomas Carter fired multiple shots at Lete, believing he and the other officers were in danger.
She said Lete retreated into the mobile home and officers backed away before hearing a single gunshot from inside the trailer.
Armijo said officers went into the trailer and found LaPlante and Lete dead.
She said a revolver was found near Lete’s body and an autopsy showed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“The investigation and autopsy revealed none of the rounds fired by Officer Carter struck either Lete or LaPlante and that LaPlante was shot to death by Lete,” Armijo said.
Balloon Fiesta spokesman Tom Garrity said both men, and Lete’s wife, were longtime fixtures at the Balloon Fiesta and the tragedy took the community by surprise.
“It leaves everyone with a tremendous sense of loss in different ways,” he said.
Garrity said LaPlante was a launch director who worked at the fiesta for over a decade and Lete was a longtime balloon pilot, along with his wife Cheryl Lete, who was also a former balloon meister and currently serves on the board of directors.
Garrity said LaPlante helped the Balloon Fiesta become successful and his contributions will be missed as the event looms next month.