No suspects yet in Santa Fe slaying
33-year-old man was shot at least once in the chest, according to initial findings from autopsy
Santa Fe police were still trying to determine Tuesday what led to the slaying of 33-year-old Matthew Corral after he apparently spent Saturday night out on the town with friends.
Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said Corral, a selfemployed Santa Fe construction worker, was shot at least once in the chest, according to initial findings from an autopsy completed Monday. An Uber driver found the man’s body around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, lying face down in the middle of the intersection of West De Vargas Street and Don Gaspar Avenue.
The driver had just picked up two women from the nearby Del Charro bar and restaurant on West Alameda Street. The three got out of the vehicle and tried to revive Corral with CPR, but were unsuccessful, police said.
The killing is Santa Fe’s third homicide this year.
So far, information on Corral and his death remains scant. No suspects have been identified in the killing, and officers are not yet certain whether he was slain at the intersection or brought there, Valdez said.
Investigators believe Corral had been to restaurants and bars in the downtown area with friends Saturday night, but might have gone off on his own before his death. Detectives have interviewed witnesses and are examining surveillance video from businesses in the area.
Valdez said Corral was unmarried, had no children and did not have family living in the Santa Fe area. Public records show a previous address for him in Northern California, and his Facebook page indicates he lived in Taos for a time in 2016.
Friends and relatives of Corral did not return messages Monday and Tuesday seeking comment on the man, and no one answered the door Tuesday at a Hopewell Street apartment where he appeared to have been living some time before his death.
Corral’s Facebook page gives very little personal information but shows photos of him with friends and family, including photos of him hiking with loved ones at sites near Santa Fe.