On February 14, 2021, a double homicide occurred in the small community of Villanueva, New Mexico, resulting in the deaths of 59-year-old Guadalupe Gutierrez and 32-year-old Kevin Anthony Gutierrez. The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau was alerted to the incident and initiated an investigation.
The investigation revealed that the killings were perpetrated by a 14-year-old boy named Enrique Duran-Garcia from Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Enrique was the son of Kevin Gutierrez's ex-girlfriend. On February 12, 2021, Kevin Gutierrez was contacted by Enrique, who claimed he had run away from home and wanted to stay with Kevin. Enrique was accompanied by a 15-year-old male friend.
During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Enrique took Kevin's handgun and used it to shoot and kill Kevin. Following Kevin's murder, Enrique also killed Guadalupe Gutierrez by stabbing and shooting him. After committing the crimes, Enrique and his friend hitchhiked back to Las Vegas. Enrique then threatened his friend not to talk to the police about the crime.
Enrique Duran-Garcia was arrested on March 8, 2021, by the New Mexico State Police and was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on a $1,000,000 cash-only bond. He was charged with multiple offenses, including two counts of Murder in the 1st Degree, Conspiracy, Intimidation of a Witness, Tampering with Evidence, Larceny of a Firearm, and Larceny. The case was under investigation by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau, with no additional information available at the time of the arrest.
The motive behind the killings was not explicitly stated in the reports, but it is clear that Enrique's desire to stay with Kevin and his subsequent actions led to the tragic deaths of both Guadalupe and Kevin Gutierrez. The investigation highlighted the complexity and severity of the crimes committed by a juvenile, which is a rare and disturbing occurrence.
