Third person charged in slaying of teen boy in Nambé
Jordan Anthony Nuñez, one of three suspects jailed in connection with the death last year of 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia, was charged Tuesday in a grand jury indictment with 13 counts related to the boy’s death.
Nuñez, 19, faces one count of child abuse resulting in death, five counts of tampering with evidence, six counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence and one count of obstructing the reporting or investigation of child abuse or neglect.
Police say the boy died in November at the hands of Nuñez’s father, Thomas Wayne Ferguson, at a house in Nambé where they were living with the boy’s mother.
According to an affidavit for Nuñez’s arrest, Nuñez told police he had reconnected with his father in October after a 10-year separation. Nuñez’s parents had separated because of domestic violence, according to the affidavit. The document also says that Nuñez “indicated he was physically abused as a child at the hands of his father.”
Nuñez told police that Ferguson had tortured Valencia, the teenage son of Ferguson’s girlfriend.
According to the affidavit, Nuñez said his father would beat the boy with brass knuckles and a cane, choke him with a spear, make him wear diapers and force the boy into a dog kennel, among other things.
On Nov. 26, police say, Ferguson beat Jeremiah to death in a home off the side of N.M. 503, according to court documents. Nuñez and the boy’s mother, Tracy Ann Peña, told police that Ferguson forced them to help dispose of the boy’s body. They told police they were too afraid of Ferguson to tell authorities about the crime, court documents say.
Police learned about the boy’s death in January from an informant who was in incarcerated with Peña at the Santa Fe County jail, according to arrest affidavits and other documents.
Ferguson faces a first-degree murder count and 17 other charges, including felony kidnapping and child abuse resulting in death.
Peña faces 12 charges, including tampering with evidence and obstructing the reporting of child abuse, as well as two charges of child abuse resulting in death and great bodily harm.