A 16-year-old boy stands accused of brutally murdering four members of his own family in their rural New Mexico home. Shockingly, the young boy took the initiative to call the police and confess to this heinous crime.
Diego Leyva made a distressing call to 911 in the early hours of Saturday morning, confessing to the dispatcher that he had committed a grave act – he had taken the lives of his own family.
When the officers arrived at the home in Belen around 3:30 a.m., Diego came out of the property. According to the police, Diego was “extremely intoxicated” and had his hands in the air.
Leonardo Leyva, 42, Adriana Bencomo, 35, Adrian Leyva, 16, and Alexander Leyva, 14, were discovered dead inside the residence from probable gunshot wounds. There was also a pistol on the kitchen table.
After being initially taken to a local hospital, the 16-year-old suspect was later booked into the Juvenile Justice Center in Albuquerque around 1 a.m. on Sunday.
The authorities have charged him with four counts of first-degree murder.
According to Vanessa LaGrange, the teenager’s former teacher, the news of what happened has left everyone in shock.
“I would never have thought that something like this would happen and that Diego would be capable of doing something like this,” she said.
According to a statement on Facebook by the Valencia County Fire Department, Adriana Bencomo had been actively serving as a volunteer firefighter for the Rio Communities Fire Department.
“Our brothers and sisters at RCFD are shocked and saddened by this loss as expected,” the department said, adding that a peer support team was available for its members.