New Mexico Man Accused of Killing Mother, Hiding Dismembered Remains in Freezer for Weeks After Claiming She ‘Served Darkness’

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO — Police say a 49-year-old man strangled and dismembered his 69-year-old mother, hid her remains in the freezer of their shared home, and continued living there for three weeks — even attempting to collect her income while pretending she was on vacation.

Leroy Felix Vallejos is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his mother, Ernestina Lucero, whose remains were found earlier this week inside the family’s Albuquerque home.

Authorities described the crime as one of the most disturbing domestic homicides they’ve ever encountered.

Mother Reported Missing After Weeks of Silence

According to police, Lucero’s relatives contacted authorities on October 23 after being unable to reach her for over a week. Investigators also learned that Vallejos had called his mother’s home health care provider demanding payment for her care — even though he hadn’t seen her in days.

When officers arrived at the home in the 300 block of Rhode Island Street NE, Vallejos answered the door and allowed them inside. He claimed his mother had “gone to Mexico with her boyfriend,” but police immediately grew suspicious after finding her medication still in the bathroom and blood stains beneath the kitchen sink.

Freezer Discovery Shocks Detectives

Officers opened a large freezer and found multiple garbage bags inside. When they looked closer, they found what appeared to be human remains — later identified as Lucero’s.

Investigators said Vallejos confessed during questioning that he had choked his mother to death roughly three weeks earlier, dismembered her, and placed parts of her body in the freezer.

He allegedly told detectives that he believed his mother was part of a “group of people giving their lives to darkness” who were conspiring against him.

After the Murder, a Chilling Routine

Authorities say that after killing Lucero, Vallejos continued to live in the home, using her possessions, withdrawing cash from her bank account, and even selling her car.

“He acted as though nothing had happened — eating, sleeping, and conducting his normal life steps away from where he hid her body,” one investigator told KRQE.

Court records show Vallejos was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center without bond.

Community Stunned by Grisly Case

The killing has stunned the quiet Albuquerque neighborhood, where residents said Lucero was known as a kind, churchgoing woman who “looked out for everyone.”

“We never thought something like this could happen here,” a neighbor told CBS News Albuquerque. “She was so gentle, and that makes this even more horrifying.”

Police have not yet released toxicology or full autopsy results, but prosecutors say the evidence of manual strangulation and dismemberment is “overwhelming.”

Vallejos is scheduled for his first court appearance next week.

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