Murder suspect who committed suicide left messages behind
Thomas Ferguson had been charged in 13-year-old’s death
SANTA FE — At the time of his death by suicide at the Santa Fe County jail, the walls in Thomas Ferguson’s cell were covered in messages, including “Born 10-4-75 Died 11-26-17.”
Ferguson was found hanging from his bedsheet in the cell April 27. But Nov. 26, 2017, is the date that police say 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia, the son of Ferguson’s girlfriend Tracy Pena, was killed in the family group’s Nambé home.
Investigators believe Ferguson tortured and abused Jeremiah with implements like a heavy hammer and a homemade spear and forced to him to stay in a dog cage while wearing a diaper.
But based on testimony from Jeremiah’s younger sister, police now believe it was actually Jordan Nunez, Ferguson’s 20-yearold son, who caused the boy’s fatal injuries on the day he died, by repeatedly flipping over the dog cage with Jeremiah inside.
Written on the desk in Ferguson’s cell was “I Love My Son Jordan,” “God is Awesome Everyday” and “God is Great Everyday,” a crime scene technician’s report states.
Ferguson, Pena and Nunez were all charged in January after Jeremiah’s body was found in a shallow grave off N.M. 503 last January. Pena, 36, has accepted a plea deal under which she’ll get a 12-year prison sentence on a count of child abuse resulting in her son’s death; prosecutors say she was not an “active participant” in her son’s killing. Nunez’s case is pending, and Pena has agreed to testify against him.
Santa Fe County and the sheriff’s office recently released documents on Ferguson’s suicide at age 42 and details about the scene in the cell where he died. Ferguson was originally pegged as the one who killed Jeremiah, but focus later shifted to Nunez.
Ferguson had been in the Santa Fe County jail since Jan. 27 and his transfer to a state prison had been ordered by a judge. He was found hanging from the sheet during a jail officer’s check of his cell around 11:16 p.m. on April 27.
Such “unit checks” are supposed to take place every half hour. For Ferguson, the previous check had taken place at about 10:47 p.m., by another officer who reported that Ferguson had been observed lying down. In an incident report, Lt. Richard Roybal, the jail shift commander, said camera footage confirms when the last two unit checks took place.
“All we can do is try and prevent it by doing our job and being on top of our unit checks,” he wrote.
The jail officer who found Ferguson’s body wrote in his statement that the cell was dark because the light inside had been covered. “I got my flash light to get a clear look in the cell and saw inmate Ferguson hanging from the window in the back of the cell near the window,” he wrote.
Ferguson apparently aimed to make sure he couldn’t be rescued. County crime scene technician Shari Hill reported that the cell’s entrance was slippery because Ferguson had poured shampoo on the floor.
The sheet had been wrapped over the middle bar of the room’s window. “The gap between the window and metal bar normally has a sealant of sorts to plug the gap,” Hill wrote, “however the sealant was missing in the area that the sheet was fed through.”
According to technician Hill’s report, she observed several other messages written on the walls, including “I Died Here” and a sergeant’s last name prefaced with an expletive. A letter to that same sergeant was found in the cell. In the letter, Ferguson complained about his treatment in the jail.
Also written on the wall, according to Hill, was “I’D RATHER DIE A MAN THEN LIVE LIKE A (EXPLETIVE) I’D RATHER DO LIFE IN THE PEN THEN TO WALK THE STREETS A SNITCH GANGSTER POPULATION IS DECREASING BY THE MILLIONS... SUSPECT.” The wording before “SUSPECT” was deemed illegible.
Some of the messages in the cell are linked firmly to Ferguson — with his birth date, the date Jeremiah died and the references to his son Jordan and the sergeant he wrote the letter to. Hill’s report attributes the messages to “an unknown scriber” and offers no speculation on whether any prisoner who previously used the cell may have authored any of the messages.
Books and letters
Hill wrote that she also collected several personal items as evidence, including a letter addressed to Pena, assorted papers, Ferguson’s bed sheets and a note to his mom found in his books. Hill found several books in his cell, with titles including “Dream Messages from the Afterlife” “Wrongful Death” and “The Power of a Praying Husband.” There was also a Bible.
In May, the sheriff’s office said that Ferguson left behind a note declaring his innocence in Jeremiah’s death and expressing disdain for law enforcement. Sheriff’s spokesperson Juan Rios said Wednesday that the note was addressed to Pena. This note along with another letter Ferguson mailed to his attorney relating to his suicide have been sealed under a court order, Rios said.
But Ferguson also proclaimed his innocence in an intercepted letter to Pena dated Feb. 13 and which the Sheriff’s Office released to the Journal.
“I really want you to know baby that I am not the one who did this & that I am truly sorry for your loss it was my loss too because I really do love you all so very much. It’s just to (sic) late now for me to show you all,” he wrote.
Parts of the letter can be interpreted as saying Jordan Nunez was responsible for Jeremiah’s death.
“I know for sure bringing him down here was a big mistake, don’t get me wrong, I love him too, but all hes done since his being here has caused alot of problems between all of us & it cost me our family Mama, I ain’t mad at you & I still love you very, very, very much, I swear to God I do!!”
“I don’t think you feel the same way about me anymore because I’m sure he’s blaming me for what he did,” Ferguson also wrote. He does not specify who “he” is.
“Their so much more I want to tell you babe, I just don’t think you will ever give me the chance & I really did & still do want to marry you.”
In April, the county released basic information about Ferguson’s suicide, stressing that the information was still preliminary pending the completion of a full investigation. Any additional findings from the investigation were never released.
Asked on Tuesday if there was any updated information she could provide, county spokesperson Tessa Jo Mascarenas said what she knows from the jail warden is that the full investigation concluded that “all the suicide prevention policies were followed and timely checks were completed” leading up to Ferguson’s death.
Suicide protocol?
The Journal has previously reported that during a Santa Fe domestic violence incident that resulted in a SWAT standoff in 2014, Ferguson was found unconscious by police due to a suspected overdose of prescription medication. Ferguson’s then-girlfriend — who had black eyes and other injuries and said she was sexually assaulted — told officers that he wouldn’t let her leave the house and that at times he would threaten suicide if she left.
According to Santa Fe County jail policy, all inmates are subject to medical and mental health screening, which includes a suicide risk assessment, within two hours of arrival. Prisoners are supposed to be asked a set of questions about whether they ever have or are considering suicide.
Mascarenas said in a statement that the county cannot share health information, but that it “followed applicable protocols in its care for Inmate Ferguson.”
“However, speaking generally, suicide watch is not dictated by past behavior alone,” Mascarenas added. “An inmate is placed on suicide watch when the inmate presents a current risk of self-harm.”
Among documents released by the county is a note about Ferguson from Feb. 20 that states, “No medical or behavioral health issues reported by inmate.” Other notes indicate there had been no security or disciplinary issues relating to Ferguson during his incarceration.