In the summer of 2016, a heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in Roswell, New Mexico, forever altering the lives of a local family. On June 11th, 14-year-old female Yamilen Villegas-Hernandez was found deceased in her home, the victim of a shocking act of violence that also claimed the lives of her mother and three younger sisters. The quiet desert community was left reeling from the loss of five members of their community in such a brutal manner.
The discovery was made late that Saturday
night when concerned relatives, unable to reach the family, went to their home to check on them. Peering through a partially open window, a relative saw a grim scene that prompted an immediate call to the authorities. When Roswell police officers arrived, they entered the residence to find a devastating sight. In three different bedrooms lay the bodies of 34-year-old Cynthia Villegas and her four daughters: Yamilen, age 14, Cynthia, age 10, Abigayl, age 7, and Idaleigh, age 3. All five had been shot in the head.
The focus of the investigation quickly turned to the girls' father and Cynthia's husband, Juan David Villegas-Hernandez. He was nowhere to be found, and it was soon discovered that he had fled to Mexico. An alert was issued, and Mexican authorities were notified. The day after the discovery of the bodies, Sonora state police located Villegas-Hernandez's vehicle outside a family home in Arizpe. When he realized police were present, he attempted to flee, first in his vehicle and then on foot into the hilly terrain. As officers closed in, he threatened to take his own life with a knife. After a period of negotiation, he was taken into custody.
Following his arrest, the process to extradite Villegas-Hernandez back to the United States began. He was charged with five counts of first-degree murder. The motive for the horrific crime, as presented by prosecutors, was that Villegas-Hernandez had discovered his wife was planning to divorce him. During his trial, a witness testified to speaking with him for over two hours on the afternoon of the killings as he loaded items into his truck. She described his behavior as strange and noted that he had threatened suicide and would not allow her inside the house. Inside the home, police found a message written on a door that read, “Forgive me. I apologize to all. I will kill myself too.”
In a turn of events during his trial, Juan David Villegas-Hernandez entered a no-contest plea to five counts of first-degree murder, bringing the court proceedings to an end. He was subsequently sentenced to five life-in-prison terms, one for each of the lives he had taken.
