Nathan Anthony Vigil, 31, male, Hispanic, of Española, New Mexico, died July 12, 2021. In the weeks leading up to his death, state police issued a Missing Person Advisory noting he was last seen around 11:30 a.m. on July 1 in the Española area, an alert that spread through local outlets and social posts as friends and relatives sought word of his whereabouts. His obituary later marked the date of his passing, closing the door on weeks of worry for those who knew him.
Investigators soon focused on an encounter that unfolded inside an Española home. According to a criminal complaint, a 58-year-old Santa Cruz man, Randy Patrick Lujan Sr., told detectives the confrontation had escalated to the point where, as he put it, “it was him or me.” After the shooting, Lujan Sr. returned to the scene with his son, Randy Lujan Jr., and the two went to clean up and dispose of evidence. Vigil’s body was taken to a ravine off County Road 162 near Abiquiú, and other items were thrown into a dumpster behind the Regal Inn in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Police arrested Lujan Sr. and booked him into the Rio Arriba County jail on charges including first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
The case moved through the courts over the next several years. A jury ultimately found Lujan Sr. guilty of second-degree murder, and on January 20, 2025, a judge sentenced him to 22 years in prison. The sentencing brought an official close to the prosecution and set the terms of punishment for the killing that had started as an argument and ended with a body hidden in a northern New Mexico ravine.
