Melissa Barreras, a 48-year-old Hispanic woman and mother from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was found dead in her home on June 26, 2022. Her death was part of a complex and tragic series of events that also resulted in the death of her husband. Family members described her son as a good kid who had attended Catholic school but was now struggling with addiction, which had caused problems for the family.
The tragedy began to unfold on the morning of June 26.
Melissa’s husband, 50-year-old Raymond Barreras Jr., left their home and drove to a Circle K gas station near 98th and Central. There, he confronted their 23-year-old son, Raymond David Barreras III, who was sleeping in a car with his girlfriend. Surveillance video showed the father firing a handgun at his son’s car as the son drove away. Shortly after, the son’s car drove past his father again, and Raymond Jr. was seen falling to the ground, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
About 30 minutes later, the son called 911. He told dispatchers his father had shot at him and expressed concern for his mother’s safety, saying his father had been using drugs and alcohol. The call prompted Albuquerque police officers to conduct a welfare check at the Barreras family home near Arenal and Unser SW. Inside, they discovered Melissa Barreras, who had been shot and killed.
Initially, investigators believed the son had shot his father in retaliation and arrested him on a murder charge. However, the case took a dramatic turn within days. After reviewing new surveillance video and preliminary autopsy results, the district attorney’s office announced that evidence suggested Raymond Barreras Jr. had taken his own life. The murder charge against his son was dropped, and he was released from jail. Prosecutors noted that new charges could be filed if additional evidence came to light, but as it stood, there was no evidence implicating the son in either death.
With the father’s death reclassified as a suicide, the focus of the homicide investigation shifted. An Albuquerque Police Department spokesman publicly identified Raymond Barreras Jr. as the main suspect in the murder of his wife, Melissa. According to police evidence, he was the only person seen leaving their home that morning before he drove to the gas station where he died.
As of late June 2022, the investigation into Melissa Barreras’s death remains open. Anyone with information is asked to contact Albuquerque Crime Stoppers at (505) 843-STOP (7867). Callers can remain anonymous.
