Man, 80, held in slaying of daughter’s boyfriend
Woman says she can’t comprehend what she believes was an accident
Felicia Valencia shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun as she stepped outside of her home on Monday, burdened by thoughts she could not shake.
Her face was worn from three days of tears and two sleepless nights. As much as she tried, she said she couldn’t escape the tragedy: Her boyfriend, Thomas Trujillo, was killed on Saturday and police have arrested her father as a suspect. “I feel horrible,” Valencia said. “I feel really lost.” Ben Norverto Martinez, 80, was booked into the Santa Fe County jail on Sunday and charged on an open count of murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Trujillo after Valencia’s family discovered Trujillo’s body in her father’s home on Pasada del Ben, a small street on Santa Fe’s southwest side.
Sheriff ’s deputies reported finding Trujillo, 57, on the floor of Martinez’s home with three gunshot wounds to his torso and back. A .22-caliber revolver belonging to Martinez was discovered next to Trujillo’s left arm.
According to deputies’ arrest statement, Martinez and Trujillo had been drinking Friday night along with a neighbor. Valencia said Monday that she had left her father’s home Friday night, assured Trujillo would follow. She returned about an hour later and found the house dark and locked. She said she assumed they had gone to sleep.
The arrest statement says a member of Martinez’s family walked into the house on Saturday morning to find Trujillo on the floor, and saw Martinez in the kitchen.
When asked what happened, the document says, Martinez replied, “To be honest, I don’t know.”
Court documents say Martinez chose to remain silent when questioned by deputies at the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office.
Martinez’s revolver normally was stored in a bedroom drawer, court documents say, and investigators found no sign of forced entry into the residence.
His daughter said Monday, “I just feel it was an accident because when I last saw everybody, they were all happy.”
Valencia, 54, paused as she wrapped her arms around her chest.
She rubbed her fingers along her tattooed arms and, looking in the distance, said she doesn’t know how to describe what transpired.
“It’s just one of those freak accidents that shouldn’t have happened,” Valencia said.
Valencia said her father is a Vietnam veteran who may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“My dad isn’t used to having people over, especially overnight,” she said. “I know my dad wouldn’t do anything like that.”
Martinez was being held Monday at the Santa Fe County jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.
Valencia said she had been with Trujillo for 1½ years. She described him as an animal lover — they kept a duck, three chihuahuas, two cats and two turtles. He owned a local landscaping company.
“My man and I loved each other so much,” she said. “We had so many high hopes. Now I don’t know what my future will look like.”