In the quiet community of Nambe, New Mexico, 67-year-old Elvira Segura, a retired former Santa Fe librarian, spent her days enjoying her retirement. Her life took a tragic turn in September 2016 when she was killed in her own home. The grim discovery of her death would not be made until later that month, unraveling a story of misplaced trust and ultimate betrayal.
Neighbors recalled hearing what sounded like gunshots emanating from Segura's residence approximately three weeks before her
body was found. In the days that followed Segura's murder, her tenant, 57-year-old Robert Mondrian-Powell, who also served as her handyman, was seen calmly holding a yard sale, selling off her possessions while her body lay inside the house. This chilling act was a prelude to his disappearance.
The investigation into Segura's whereabouts began to gain momentum when her car was discovered abandoned in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on September 24, 2016. This discovery prompted a welfare check at her Nambe home three days later. Upon entering, officers found a grim scene in the blood-splattered bathroom where Segura's body was located. An autopsy later confirmed that she had been deceased for several weeks.
The focus of the investigation quickly centered on Mondrian-Powell, who had been living in Segura's home. He was apprehended in Las Cruces and taken into custody, where he was booked into the Dona Ana County jail on a murder charge. According to a fundraising page set up by her son, Mondrian-Powell confessed to the crime and was set to be arraigned on charges including second-degree murder.
