Jeremy Trujillo, a 16-year-old white male from Albuquerque, was walking home with his longtime friend Samuel “Sammie” Gutierrez on the afternoon of Thursday, March 22, 2012, when the two teens were gunned down near a southwest Albuquerque arroyo not far from their homes. Family members said the boys had left Robert F. Kennedy High School and were taking the familiar route along the bike path when violence found them, abruptly ending futures that relatives imagined would include forest work
for Jeremy and naval service for Sammie. An obituary later confirmed Jeremy’s death that day, and loved ones gathered to remember a boy who loved the outdoors and his dogs.
Investigators quickly found a potential lead: a neighbor’s home-surveillance camera captured two hooded people riding bicycles toward the area where the teens were later found. In the footage described by police and local news, the cyclists appear first, and minutes later two youths with backpacks—matching the boys’ path home—pass the same house; the video then shows an encounter near the spot where the bodies would be discovered. Detectives released the clip to the public, calling it a possible break in the case and asking anyone who recognized the riders to come forward.
Despite the video and the families’ pleas, no arrests followed. In July 2012, relatives reported that police still had not identified the killers; that same month, vandals destroyed a memorial set up for Jeremy along the bike path, an act that deepened his grandmother’s grief and steeled the family’s resolve to keep the case in public view through billboards and a reward. Two years later, Jeremy’s father spoke out again, saying he had heard of no progress while police maintained they were still working the double homicide and continued to offer a reward for tips.
Years on, authorities continued to seek help identifying suspects. On the fifth anniversary of the killings, the Albuquerque Police Department circulated an appeal asking the public to watch the surveillance video and help name the individuals believed responsible for shooting Jeremy and Sammie. As of those updates, the case remained open and unsolved, with detectives relying on community information to move it forward.
