In the pre-dawn hours of January 19, 2013, a horrific scene unfolded in a South Valley, New Mexico home, culminating in the death of 51-year-old Gregory Greg Griego. A former pastor and chaplain for the Albuquerque Fire Department, Griego was known in his community as a man of faith who had turned his own life around from early gang involvement. He and his wife, Sarah, were raising their ten children in a home where he reportedly restricted violent video games and television content.
The
tragic events of that Saturday morning began around 1 a.m. when his 15-year-old son, Nehemiah, used a. 22 caliber rifle to shoot his mother, Sarah Griego, as she slept. He then proceeded to kill three of his younger siblings: Zephaniah, 9, Jael, 5, and Angelina, 2. Nehemiah waited for his father, who was working an overnight shift at a homeless shelter, to return home. When Gregory Griego arrived at approximately 5 a.m., his son ambushed him, shooting him multiple times with an AR-15 style rifle. The weapons used in the killings belonged to Gregory Griego and were stored in the family's closet.
After the killings, Nehemiah loaded the rifles into the family van with the intention of driving to a populated area to continue his shooting spree, but he first contacted his 12-year-old girlfriend. He met her at Calvary Albuquerque, the church where his father had been a pastor. He initially told people at the church that his family had died in a car accident, but later confessed to the shootings. A church official, a retired homicide detective, grew suspicious and drove back to the Griego home with Nehemiah, where he discovered Gregory Griego's body and called 911.
Nehemiah Griego was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death. He confessed to the killings, stating he had been having anger issues and was annoyed with his mother. He also told investigators he had been having homicidal and suicidal thoughts. In October 2015, Nehemiah pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. After a series of legal proceedings to determine if he should be sentenced as a juvenile or an adult, a judge ultimately ruled that he would be sentenced as an adult. In November 2019, Nehemiah Griego, then 22, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years.
